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AUTHOR: 


SWEDENBORG, 
EMANUEL 


TITLE: 


GOD,  PROVIDENCE, 
CREATION:... 


PLACE: 


NEW  YORK 


DA  TE : 


1896 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARIES 
PRESERVATION  DEPARTMENT 


Master  Negative  # 


BTBLTOGRAt'iiiC   ,\  1 1 CROFOKM  1  A RGET 


-DrieinaLMaierial  as  Filmed  -  Exisli:ie  Diblioeraohic  Record 
938.94 

SW3473 

Swedenborg,  AnBnuel,  1688-1772  ♦ 

God^   providers: e^   creation;    extracted  from 
the  Apocalypse   explaiiiedp     New  York^    Ainerican 
Swedeiiborg  print iiag  and  publishing  society, 
1896. 

iv,   249  p. 


Restrictions  on  Use: 


I.  Title* 


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ColttinWa  (Bttitersiitp 

THE  LIBRARIES 


From  the  library  of 
Hewry  S.  and  Juliana  Haskell 

1948 


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1.4  .«, 


God 


Providence 


Creation 


BY 


EMAXUEL   SWEDEN BORG 

Extrancdfrom  the  Apocalypse  Explained 


NEW    YORK 
AMERICAN  SWEDENHORG  PRINTING  AND  PUBLISHING 

Society 
20  cooper  union 


I  896 


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9ss.  9¥ 

3u^  JV  73 


ThlB  little  volume  contains  the  supplementary  doctrinal  Ptate- 
ments  In  the  Apocalypse  Explained  that  are  interspersed  through 
the  expositions  of  the  spiritual  sense  of  the  eighteenth  and  nine- 
teenth chapters  of  the  Apocalypse.  The  similar  statements  con- 
tained in  the  exposition  of  the  three  preceding  chapters  are  pub- 
lished in  another  volume,  with  the  title.  The  Spiritual  Life  and  the 

Word  of  God. 

J.  C.  Ager. 


From  the  Library  of 
Bbmkt  S.  and  Juliana  Haskeli 

1948 


in 

CCs 


CONTENTS 


I, 

11. 

III. 

IV. 

V. 

VI. 

VII. 

VIII. 

IX. 
X. 

XI. 

XII. 

XIII. 

XIV. 

XV. 


P^XT  FIRST 

God  and  Man 

The  Atha\asi.\.v  Symbolic  Faith  (3-6) 

The  importa.vck  op  RUiHT  THoroHT  ABOUT  GOD  a  m 

?HoS;  ^Z^^^^':^^  --  --E  a7-^,. 

'"LoR"<^.r  ""^  ^'"-^^  ^^"^  -« "--  -  -« 
?HE  oo"M:x'r46S^  '^"'^'^  ""^'"^  ^"'^'^^  ^^-^^^ 

The  Lord  the  oxly  M.a.v  (.'5.S-5.')) 

THE  mv.^JTi/''  ""^'"''^  ■'"'•'  ^'^''^^  Life  (56-68). 
iHt  On  INK  Hi'MAN  Life  (.W-^). 

All  THINGS  from  that  Life  (63-66) 

THAT  Life  Eternal,  Infinite,  and  Omnipotent  (67-74). 


PART  SECOND 

The  Divine  Providence 

I.  The  Laws  of  Divine  Providence  (77-81). 

(82^7^"^  ^"^^  ^^^''''^  ^""^^  ^"^  ^'^^^=  Providence 
III.  The  Third  Law  of  Divine  Providence  (88-102). 


IV 


COMENTS. 


IV.  TiiK  ForRTH  Law  of  Divine  PROvinKxcE  (1(B-108). 
V.  Thk  FiKTii    Law  of  Divixk  Pkovidkxck  (llW-ll.i). 
VL  The  Sixth   Law  of  Divixk  Pkovidkxck   (114-117). 
VIL  The  Seventh  Law  of  Divine  Pkovidknck  (llH-123). 
VIIL  The  Ekihth  Law  of  Divixk  Pkovidkxck  (124-1»J). 
1\.  The  Ninth  Law  of  Divixk  Pkovidknce  (140-159). 
X.  The  Tkxth  Law  of  Divine  Providence  (160-169). 
XL  Eminence  axu  Wealth  through  Uses  (170-irij. 


P.-i/ir  THIRD 

Animal  and  \'egetable  Life 

L    A    SPIRITfAL    AXD    A    NaTCRAL    IN    ALL   THINGS    (177    178). 

II.   Animal  Life  (17'.»-1*<4). 

III.  Thk  Ax  IMA  l  Soil  (IM5-1S9i. 

IV.  The  Difference  between  Men  and  Beasts  (190-193). 
V.  The  Plant  Soil  dm-lW). 

VL  Natckk  the   Realm  of  Effects  (197-199). 

VII.  Xatire  in  itself  Dead  (2«m>-2iC). 

VIIL  The  animal  Form  and  the  Plant  Form  (203,204). 

IX,  The  thkke  Fokcks  (2(k'>,  2itt;). 

X.  How  THKSK   Forces  act  (2l»7-21()). 

XL  The  Orhmn  of  Animai„s  and  Plants  (211-213). 

XIL  Use  the  Origin  t2l4-2l0;. 


PART  FOURTH 

The  Divine  Omnipresence  and  Omnisrience 

I.   Need  op  a  rational  I'nder.-^tandinc,  of  them  (219-222). 
II.    .NaTIRAL   and    SHIRITIAL   Sl'ACES   AND   TIMES   (22:i-2:W). 

III.  Right  Thoi-ght  aboit  Space  and  Time  (22".»-2:5i). 

IV.  Heaven  and  thk  <'hirch  ix  thk  Himax  Form  kZ^-'£S\), 
V.  The  Lords  i'resexce  in  .Max  (2:iV2:{7>. 

VI.  The  Lord's  pre.^exce  in  Evil  Men  (23S-241). 
VII.   How  THE  Lord  is  prksext  in  ail  thi\(;s  t2J'-2l7> 
VI 1 1. 


Natcrk    <»f    thk    Lords 
EXCE   1248,249). 


OMNIPKESKXCE     AXD    U.MNISCI. 


PART  FIRST 


God  and  Man 


God  and  Man. 


I. 


The  Athanasian  Symbolic  Faith. 

*'  IVhosofv^r  will  be  saved,  before  all  thing's  it  is 
necessary  that  he  hold  the  Catholic  faith  ; 

IVhich  faith  except  every  one  shall  keep  it  whole  and  en- 
tire,  without  doubt  he  shall  perish  everlastingly. 

The  Catholic  faith  is  this  : 

"  That  we  worship  one  God  in  Trinity,  and  Trinity 
in  Unity, 
Neither  confounding  the  persons  nor  dividing  the  *sub- 

stance. 
For  there  is  one  person  of  the  Father,  another  of  the  Son, 

and  another  of  the  Holy  Spirit  ; 
But  the  Godhead  of  the  Father,  of  the  Son,  and  of  the 

Holy  Spirit,  is  one  and  the  same,  the  glory  equal, 

and  the  majesty  co-eternal. 
Such  as  the  Father  is,  such  is  the  Son,  and  such  is  the 

Holy  Spirit. 
The  Father  is  uncreate,  the  Son  is  uncreate,  and  the  Holy 

Spirit  is  uncreate. 
The  Father  is  infinite,  the  Son  infinite,  and  the  Holy 

Spirit  infinite. 

♦  essence. 


4  GOD    AND    MAN. 

The  Father  eternal,  the  Son  eternal,  and  the  Holy  Spirit 

eternal. 
And  yet  they  are  not  three  eternals,  but  one  eternal ; 
Also  there  are  not  three  infinites  nor  three  uncreates,  but 

one  uncreate  and  one  infinite. 
So  likeuise  the  Father  is  Almighty,  the  Son  Almighty, 

and  the  Holy  Spirit  Almighty  ; 
And  yet  they  are   not  three  Almighties,  but  one  Al- 
mighty. 
As  the  Father  is  God  so  the  Son  is  God  and  the  Holy 

Spirit  is  God  ; 
And  yet  there  are  not  three  Gods,  but  one  God. 
So  likewise  the  Father  is  Lord,  the  Son  is  Lord,  and  the 

Holy  Spirit  is  Lord  ; 
And  yet  there  are  not  three  Lords,  but  one  Lord. 
For  like  as  we  are  compelled  by  the  Christian  verity  to  ac- 
knowledge every  person  by  Himself  to  be  God  and 

Lord, 
So  *are  we  forbidden   by  the  Catholic   religion  to  say 

there  be  three  Gods  or  three  Lords. 
The  Father  was  made  of  none,  neither  created  nor  be- 

gotten  : 
The  Son  is  of  the  Father  alone,  not  made  nor  created, 

but  begotten. 
The  Holy  Spirit  is  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son,  neither 

made  nor  created  nor  begotten,  but  proceeding. 
So  there  is  one  Father,  not  three  Fathers  ;  one  Son,  not 

three  Sons;  one  Holy  Spirit,  not  three  Holy  Spirits. 
And  in  this  Trinity  none  is  afore  or  after  another  ;  none  is 

,  greater  or  less  than  another  ; 
But  the  whole  three  persons  are  co-eternal  and  co-equal. 


♦  others,  we  cannot  from  the  Christian  faith  make  mention 
of  three  Gods  or  of  three  Lords. 


THE  ATHANASIAN   SYMBOLIC   FAITH.  5 

So  that  in  all  things,  as  aforesaid,  the  *  Unity  in 
Trinity,  and  the  Trinity  in  Unity  is  to  be  wor- 
shipped. 
He,  therefore,  that  will  be  saved  must  thus  think  of  the 
Trinity. 

"Furthermore,  it  is  necessary  for  salvation  Mhat  he 
believe  rightly  the  incarnation  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ. 

For  the  true  faith  is,  that  we  believe  and  confess  that 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  is  God  and 
Man. 

God  of  the  Xsubstance  of  the  Father,  begotten  before  the 
world,  and  man  of  the  hubstance  of  the  mother^ 
born  in  the  world : 

Perfect  God  and  perfect  Man,  consisting  of  a  reasonable 
soul  and  a  human  body  : 

Equal  to  the  Father  as  touching  the  Divine,  and  Winferior 
to  the  Father  as  touching  the  Human. 

Who,  although  He  be  God  and  Man,  yet  He  is  not  two 
but  one  Christ :  one  not  by  conversion  \ofthe  Di- 
vine essence  into  the  Human,  but  by  a  taking  of 
the  Human  essence  **into  the  Divine  : 

One  altogether,  not  by  confusion  of^Ussence  but  ttby  unity 
of  person. 


*  ot tiers,  three  Persons  in  oneGodhead.andoneGodin  three 
Persons  is  to  be  worshipped. 

t  others,  that  he  constantly  believe  that  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  is  true  Man. 

X  or  essence  ;  others,  nature. 

S  others,  nature 

II  others,  lesser  than. 

%  of  the  Godhead  into  the  flesh. 

**  into  God. 

tt  substance. 

\X  others,  because  they  are  one  Person. 


D  GOD   AND   MAN. 

For  as  the  reasonable  soul  and  body  is  one  man,  so  God 

and  Man  is  one  Christ, 
Who  sidffered  for  our  salvation,  descended  into  hell,  and 

rose  again  on  the  third  day  from  the  dead  ; 
He  ascended  into  heaven,  and  sitteth  on  the  right  hand 

of  the  Father  God  Almighty  ; 
From  whence  he  shall  come  to  judge  the  quick  and  the 

dead. 
At  whose  coming  all  men  shall  rise  again  with  their 

bodies  : 
[And  shall  give  account  for  their  own  works  :] 
And  they  that  have  done  good  shall  go  into  life  everlast- 
ing, and  they  that  have  done  evil  into  everlasting 

fire. 

"This  is  the  Catholic  faith,  which  except  a  man  be- 
lieve [faithfully],  he  cannot  be  saved." 

"  Glory  be  to  God  the  Father  and  to  the  Son  and  to 
the  Holy  Spirit. 
As  it  was  in  the  beginning,  is  now,  and  shall  be  forever; 
World  without  end.     Amen."  f.^.^".,  n.  1091.) 


RIGHT   THOUGHT   ABOUT   GOD. 


II. 


The  Importance  of  Right  Thought  about  God. 


This  is  the  doctrine  respe(5ling  God  that  is  ac- 
cepted in  the  whole  Christian  world,  because  it  is 
from  a  council.  But  before  that  doctrine  is  sifted, 
a  certain  arcanum  respecting  the  state  of  man's 
faith  and  love  in  this  world,  and  afterwards  in  the 
other  world  into  which  he  comes  after  death  shall 
be  disclosed ;  for  until  this  has  been  disclosed 
man  can  have  no  other  idea  than  that  every  one, 
whatever  his  faith  may  have  been,  can  by  Divine 
mercy  be  admitted  into  heaven  and  saved,  which 
is  the  source  of  the  erroneous  belief  of  the  Baby- 
lonish race,  that  heaven  is  bestowed  upon  man  at 
the  good  pleasure  of  the  pope,  and  by  the  favor 
of  his  vicars. 

The  arcanum  is  this,  that  all  the  thoughts  of 
man  pour  themselves  forth  into  the  spiritual 
world  in  every  direcflion,  much  the  same  as  rays 
of  light  pour  forth  from  a  flame.  As  the  spiritual 
world  consists  of  heaven  and  hell,  and  as  heaven 
as  well  as  hell  consists  of  innumerable  societies, 
the  thoughts  of  man  must  needs  pour  forth  into 
societies;  spiritual  thoughts,  which  relate  to  the 
Lord,  to  love  and  faith  in  Him,  and  to  the  truths 
and  goods  of   heaven  and  the  church,  into  heav- 


8 


GOD   AND   MAN. 


enly  societies  ;  but  merely  natural  thoughts,  which 
relate  to  self  and  the  world  and  the  love  of  these, 
and  not  at  the  same  time  to  God,  into  infernal 
societies. 

That  there  is  such  an  extending  and  determin- 
ing of  all  man's  thoughts  has  not  been  known 
heretofore,  because  it  has  not  been  known  what 
heaven  is  and  what  hell  is,  thus  that  they  are  made 
up  of  societies,  consequently  that  there  is  an  ex- 
tension of  man's  thoughts  into  another  world 
than  this  natural  world,  into  which  the  sight  of  his 
eyes  extends  ;  when,  in  fadl,  it  is  the  spiritual 
world  into  which  thought  extends,  and  the  natural 
world  into  which  sight  extends,  because  the  thought 
of  the  mind  is  spiritual  while  the  sight  of  the  eye 
is  natural.  That  all  thoughts  of  man  extend  into 
the  societies  of  the  spiritual  world,  and  that  with- 
out such  extension  no  thought  is  possible,  has 
been  made  so  evident  to  me  by  an  experience  of 
many  years  that  I  can  with  all  faith  affirm  it  to 
be  true. 

In  a  word,  man  is  in  the  spiritual  world  with 
his  head  as  he  is  in  the  natural  world  with  his 
body,  head  meaning  here  his  mind,  which  consists 
of  understanding,  thought,  will,  and  love,  and 
body  here  meaning  his  senses,  which  are  seeing, 
hearing,  smelling,  taste,  and  touch.  And  as  a 
man  is  in  the  spiritual  world  in  respecfl  to  his 
head,  that  is,  in  resped  to  his  mind,  so  he  is 
either  in  heaven  or  in  hell ;  and  where  the  mind 
is  there  the  whole  man  with  the  head  and  body 
is  when  he  becomes  a  spirit.     Moreover,  man  is 


RIGHT   THOUGHT    ABOUT   GOD. 


wholly  such  as  his  conjuncftion  is  with  the  socie- 
ties of  the  spiritual  world,  such  an  angel  as  his 
conjundion  is  with  the  societies  of  heaven,  and 
such  a  devil  as  his  conjuncl;ion  is  with  the  socie- 
ties of  hell.     {A.E.,  n.  1092.) 

From  what  has  been  said  it  is  clear  that  the 
thoughts  of  man  are  extensions  into  societies 
either  heavenly  or  infernal,  and  that  if  there  were 
no  extensions  there  would  be  no  thoughts.  For 
man's  thought  is  like  the  sight  of  his  eyes;  if  sight 
had  no  extension  out  of  itself,  either  there  would 
be  no  sight  or  there  would  be  blindness.  But  it 
is  man's  love  that  determines  his  thoughts  into 
societies,  good  love  determining  them  into  heav- 
enly societies,  and  evil  love  into  infernal  societies ; 
for  the  entire  heaven  is  arranged  into  societies 
generally,  particularly,  and  most  particularly,  ac- 
cording to  all  the  varieties  of  aftedlions  belonging 
to  the  love  ;  while  on  the  other  hand,  hell  is  ar- 
ranged into  societies  according  to  lusts  of  the  love 
of  evil,  which  are  opposites  of  the  affections  of 
the  love  of  good. 

Man's  love  is  comparatively  like  fire,  and  his 
thoughts  are  like  rays  of  light  therefrom  ;  while 
the  love  is  good  the  thoughts,  which  are  like  rays, 
are  truths,  when  the  love  is  evil,  the  thoughts, 
which  are  like  rays,  are  falsities.  Thoughts  from 
a  good  love,  which  are  truths,  tend  towards  heaven  ; 
while  thoughts  from  an  evil  love,  which  are  falsi- 
ties, tend  towards  hell ;  thus  they  conjoin  them- 
selves with  homogeneous  societies,  that  is,  with 
societies  of  like  love,  and   adapt   themselves   to 


lO 


GOD   AND   MAN. 


them,  and  ingraft  themselves  into  them,  and  this 
so  entirely  that  the  man  is  wholly  one  with  them. 

Through  love  to  the  Lord  man  is  an  image  of 
the  Lord.  The  Lord  is  Divine  love ;  and  in 
heaven  before  the  angels  He  appears  like  a  sun. 
From  that  sun  light  and  heat  go  forth  ;  the  light 
is  Divine  truth,  and  the  heat  is  Divine  good. 
From  these  two  is  the  whole  heaven,  and  from 
them  are  all  the  societies  of  heaven.  The  Lord's 
love  in  a  man  who  is  an  image  of  Him  is  like  the 
fire  from  that  sun,  from  which  fire  also  light  and 
heat  go  forth ;  the  light  is  the  truth  of  faith  and 
the  heat  is  the  good  of  love  ;  both  of  these  are 
from  the  Lord,  and  both  are  implanted  in  the 
societies  with  which  the  man's  love  adls  as  one. 
That  man  from  creation  is  an  image  and  likeness 
of  God  is  evident  from  Genesis  (i.  26);  and  he  is 
an  image  and  likeness  of  the  Lord  by  means  of 
love,  because  by  means  of  love  he  is  in  the  Lord 
and  the  Lord  is  in  him  (John  xiv.  20,  21).  In  a 
word,  not  the  least  thought  can  exist  unless  it 
finds  reception  in  some  society,  not  in  the  indi- 
viduals or  angels  of  the  society,  but  in  the  affec- 
tion of  love  from  which  and  in  which  that  society 
is  ;  and  for  this  reason  the  angels  do  not  perceive 
the  influx  at  all,  and  such  influx  in  no  way  dis- 
turbs the  society. 

From  all  this  the  truth  is  clear  that  while  man 
is  living  in  the  world  he  is  in  conjuncflion  with 
heaven  and  also  in  consociation  with  angels,  al- 
though both  men  and  angels  are  unconscious  of 
it.    They  are   unconscious  of    it  because   man's 


RIGHT  THOUGHT   ABOUT   GOD. 


II 


thought  is  natural  and  an  angel's  thought  is  spir- 
itual, and  these  make  one  only  by  correspond- 
ence. 

Because  man  is  inaugurated  into  societies 
either  of  heaven  or  hell  by  means  of  his  thoughts, 
so  when  he  comes  into  the  spiritual  world,  as  he 
does  immediately  after  death,  his  character  is 
know^n  merely  by  the  extensions  of  his  thoughts 
into  societies  ;  and  thus  every  one  is  explored ; 
and  he  is  reformed  by  the  admissions  of  his 
thoughts  into  the  societies  of  heaven,  and  is  con- 
demned by  the  immersions  of  his  thoughts  in  the 
societies  of  helL   {A.E.,  q.  1093.} 


12 


GOD  AND   MAN. 


III. 


Heaven  Opened  to  Man  by  his  Thought 

RESPECTING   GuD. 

Since  man  is  not  at  his  birth  in  any  society 
either  heavenly  or  infernal,  being  without  thought, 
and  yet  is  born  for  eternal  life,  it  follows  that  in 
the  course  of  time  he  either  opens  heaven  or 
opens  hell  to  himself,  and  enters  into  societies, 
and  becomes  an  inhabitant  either  of  heaven  or  of 
hell  even  while  he  is  in  the  world.  Man  becomes 
an  inhabitant  of  the  spiritual  world  because  that 
is  his  real  dwelling  place,  and  as  it  is  called,  his 
native  land,  for  there  he  is  to  live  to  eternity  after 
having  lived  for  a  few  years  in  the  natural  world. 
From  this  it  may  be  concluded  how  necessary  it 
is  for  a  man  to  know  what  it  is  in  him  that  opens 
heaven  and  leads  him  into  its  societies,  and  what 
it  is  that  opens  hell  and  leads  him  into  its  socie- 
ties. This  will  be  told  in  the  following  chapters. 
Here  let  it  be  said  that  a  man  lets  himself  more 
and  more  into  the  societies  of  heaven  gradually 
in  accordance  with  the  additions  to  his  wisdom, 
and  into  more  and  more  interior  societies  grad- 
ually in  accordance  with  the  additions  to  his  love 
of  good  ;  also  that  so  far  as  heaven  is  opened  to 
him  hell  is  closed.     But  it  is  man  who  opens  hell 


HOW    HEAVEN    IS   OPENED   TO    MAN. 


15 


to  himself,  while  it  is  the  Lord  who  opens  heaven 
to  man.     [A.E.,  n.  1094.) 

The  first  and  chief  thought  that  opens  heaven 
to  man  is  his  thought  about  God,  and  for  the 
reason  that  God  is  the  all  of  heaven,  even  to  the 
extent  that  whether  we  speak  of  heaven  or  of  God 
it  is  the  same  thing.  The  things  Divine  that 
make  the  angels  of  whom  heaven  consists  to  be 
angels  are  when  taken  together  God.  And  this  is 
why  thought  about  God  is  the  first  and  chief  of 
all  the  thoughts  that  open  heaven  to  man,  for  it 
is  the  head  and  sum  of  all  truths  and  loves  celes- 
tial and  spiritual. 

But  there  is  thought  from  light  and  there  is 
thought  from  love.  Thought  from  light  alone  is 
knowledge  that  there  is  a  God,  which  appears  like 
acknowledgment  but  is  not.  By  thought  from 
light  man  has  presence  in  heaven,  but  not  con- 
junction with  heaven,  for  the  light  of  thought 
alone  does  not  conjoin,  but  places  man  in  the 
presence  of  the  Lord  and  the  angels.  For  such 
light  is  like  winter  light,  in  which  man  sees  with 
the  same  clearness  as  in  summer  light,  and  yet 
that  light  does  not  join  itself  to  the  earth,  nor  to 
any  tree,  shrub,  flower,  or  blade  of  grass.  More- 
over, every  man  has  implanted  in  him  an  ability 
to  think  about  God,  and  also  to  understand  in  the 
light  of  heaven  the  things  relating  to  God ;  but 
thought  alone  from  that  light,  which  is  intellectual 
thought,  merely  makes  a  man  to  be  present  with 
the  Lord  and  with  angels,  as  has  been  said. 

When  a  man  is  in  mere   intellectual  thought 


14 


GOD  AND   MAN. 


HOW    HEAVEN    IS   OPENED    TO    MAN. 


15 


about  God  and  about  things  relating  to  God,  he 
appears  to  angels  at  a  distance  like  an  image  of 
ivory  or  marble  that  can  walk  and  utter  sounds, 
but  in  whose  face  and  in  whose  voice  there  is  as 
yet  no  life.  Also  to  the  angels  he  appears  com- 
paratively like  a  tree  in  winter  time,  with  naked 
branches  without  leaves,  and  yet  of  which  some 
hope  is  cherished  that  it  will  be  covered  with 
leaves  and  afterwards  with  fruit,  when  to  the 
light  heat  is  joined,  as  in  the  spring  time.  As 
thought  about  God  is  what  chiefly  opens  heaven, 
so  thought  against  God  is  what  chiefly  closes 
heaven.    lA.E.,  n.  1096./ 

Thought  about  one  God  opens  heaven  to  man, 
since  there  is  but  one  God,  while  on  the  other 
hand  thought  about  more  than  one  God  closes 
heaven,  since  the  idea  of  more  than  one  God  de- 
stroys the  idea  of  one  God.  Thought  about  the 
true  God  opens  heaven,  since  heaven  and  every- 
thing belonging  to  it  is  from  the  true  God,  while 
on  the  other  hand  thought  about  a  false  God 
closes  heaven,  since  no  other  than  the  true  God  is 
recognized  in  heaven.  Thought  about  God  the 
Creator,  the  Redeemer,  and  the  Enlightener  opens 
heaven,  for  this  is  the  trinity  of  the  one  and  true 

God. 

Again,  thought  about  God  infinite,  eternal,  un- 
create,  omnipotent,  omnipresent,  and  omniscient 
opens  heaven,  for  these  are  attributes  of  the  es- 
sence of  the  one  and  true  God,  while  on  the  other 
hand  thought  about  a  living  man  as  a  God,  of  a 
dead  man  as  a  God,  or  of  an  idol  as  a  God  closes 


< 


heaven,  because  they  are  not  omniscient,  omni- 
present, omnipotent,  uncreate,  eternal,  and  in- 
finite, nor  was  creation  or  redemption  wrought  by 
them,  nor  is  there  enlightenment  by  them. 

Thought  about  God  as  a  Man,  in  whom  is  the 
Divine  trinity,  that  is,  the  trinity  called  the  Father, 
the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  alone  opens  heaven ; 
while  on  the  other  hand  thought  about  God  as  not 
a  Man,  which  idea  takes  the  form  of  a  little  cloud 
or  of  nature  in  her  least  parts,  closes  heaven,  for 
God  is  a  Man,  as  the  whole  angelic  heaven  in  its 
complex  is  a  Man,  and  every  angel  and  every 
spirit  is  in  consequence  a  man.  For  this  reason 
thought  about  the  Lord  as  being  the  God  q/  the 
universe  is  what  alone  opens  heaven,  for  the  Lord 
says. 

The  Father  hath  given  all  things  into  the  hand  of  the 

Son  [John  iii.  35\ 
The  Father  hath  given  the  Son  power  over  all  flesh  ( John 

xvii.  2  . 
"AM  things  have  been  delivered  to  Me  by  the  Father  " 

{Matt.  xi.  27!. 
"All  authority  hath  been  given  unto  Me  in  heaven  and 

on  earth  "  {Matt,  xxviii.  18). 

All  this  makes  clear  that  man  without  such 
an  idea  of  God  as  exists  in  heaven  cannot  be 
saved.  The  idea  of  God  in  heaven  is  the  Lord, 
for  the  angels  of  heaven  are  in  the  Lord  and  the 
Lord  is  in  them  ;  consequently  to  think  of  any 
other  God  than  the  Lord  is  to  them  impossible 
(see  John  xiv.  20,  21).  Allow  me  to  add  that  the 
idea  of  God  as  a  Man  has  been  implanted  from 
heaven    in    every  nation    throughout    the   whole 


i6 


GOD   AM)    MAN. 


world,  but  what  I  lament,  it  has  been  destroyed 
in  Christendom.     The  causes  of  this  will  be  told 

further  on.    {A.E.,  n  1097  '  r-  a     ^a 

The  thought  alone   that  there  is  a  God  and 
that  the  Lord  is  the  God  of  heaven  opens  heaven 
and  shows  man  present  there,  and  yet  so  slightly 
as  to  be  almost  unseen,  appearing  afar  off  as  in 
the  shade.     But  in  proportion  as  his  thought  of 
God  becomes   more  full,  true,  and  corred,  he  is 
seen  in  the  light.     Thought  becomes  more  full  by 
knowledges  of  truth  from  the  Word  that  pertain 
to  faith  and  of  good  that  pertain  to  love  ;   for  all 
things   from    the  Word   are    Divine,  and    Divine 
things    taken    together    are    God.     A    man    who 
thinks  merely  that  there  is  a  God  and  who  gives 
no  thought  to  what  God  is.  is  like  one  who  thinks 
that  the  Word  exists  and  that  it  is  holy,  and  yet 
knows  nothing  of  its  contents  ;    or  like  one  who 
thinks  that  the  law  exists,  but  knows  nothing  of 
what  is  in  the  law.     But  the  thought  of  what  God 
is  is  great  enough  to  fill  heaven,  and  to  constitute 
the  entire  wisdom  of  the  angels,  which  is  ineffa- 
ble,  for  in  itself  it  is  infinite  because  God  is  in- 
finite.     The  thought  that  there  is  a  ^^^^   derived 
from  what  He  is,  is  what  is  meant  in  the  Word  by 
♦•  the  name  of  God."    {A.E.,  n.  1098.) 


THOUGHT   FROM    LIGHT   AND    FROM    LOVE.       IJ 


IV. 


THOUGHT  FROM  LIGHT  AND  THOUGHT  FROM  LOVE. 


It  has  been  said  that  man  has  thought  from 
light  and  has  thought  from  love,  and  that  thought 
from  light  makes  man's  presence  in  heaven,  while 
thought  from  love  makes  man's  conjundlion  with 
heaven,  and  for  the  reason  that  love  is  spiritual 
conjundlion.  Therefore,  when  man's  thought  from 
light  becomes  his  thought  from  love  he  is  admit- 
ted into  heaven  as  to  a  marriage,  and  so  far  as  love 
is  the  primary  agent  in  thought  from  light  or  leads 
that  thought,  man  enters  heaven  as  a  bride  enters 
the  bride-chamber,  and  is  wedded.  For  the  Lord 
is  called  in  the  Word  a  "  bridegroom  "  and  a  "  hus- 
band," and  heaven  and  the  church  are  called  a 
"bride"  and  a  "wife."  "To  be  wedded"  means 
to  be  conjoined  to  heaven  in  some  society  of  it ; 
and  one  is  so  far  conjoined  to  heaven  as  he  has 
acquired  in  the  world  intelligence  and  wisdom 
from  the  Lord  through  the  Word,  thus  so  far  as 
he  has  learned  by  means  of  Divine  truths  to  think 
that  there  is  a  God,  and  that  the  Lord  is  that  God. 
And  yet  one  who  thinks  from  few  truths,  thus 
from  little  intelligence,  although  he  is  conjoined 
with  heaven  when  he  thinks  from  love,  is  con- 
joined in  its  remoter  parts  only. 


I 


I8 


GOD   AND   MAN. 


By  love  love  to  the  Lord  is  meant,  and  loving 
the  Lord  does  not  mean  loving  Him  in  respe(fl  to 
person,  for  by  such  a  love  only  man  is  not  con- 
joined to  heaven,  but  by  a  love  for  Divine  good 
and  Divine  truth,  which  are  the  Lord  in  heaven 
and  in  the  church  ;  and  these  two  are  not  loved 
by  knowing  them,  thinking  about  them,  under- 
standing them,  and  talking  about  them,  but  by 
willing  and  doing  them  for  the  reason  that  they 
are  commanded  by  the  Lord,  and  thus  because 
they  are  uses.  Nothing  is  full  until  it  has  been 
done  ;  and  the  end  for  the  sake  of  which  [the  thing 
is  done]  is  the  love ;  consequently  the  love  of 
knowing  a  thing,  of  thinking  about  it,  and  of  un- 
derstanding it  springs  from  a  love  of  willing  and 
doing  it.  Tell  me  why  you  wish  to  know  and 
understand  any  thing  except  for  the  sake  of  an 
end  which  you  love.  The  end  that  is  loved  is 
the  thing  done.  If  you  say.  For  the  sake  of  faith, 
faith  alone,  or  faith  merely  of  the  thought  separ- 
ated from  a(flual  faith  which  is  the  thing  done, 
has  no  existence.  You  are  greatly  deceived  if  you 
think  that  you  believe  in  God  when  you  are  not 
doing  the  things  pertaining  to  God  ;  for  the  Lord 
teaches  in  John  : 

"He  that  hath  My  commandments  and  doeth  them,  he 
it  is  that  lov'eth  Me,"  and  I  will  make  My  abode 
with  him.  "But  he  that  loveth  Me  not  keepeth 
not  My  words  "  (xir.  21,  23,  24). 

In  a  word,  loving  and  doing  are  one  ;  therefore 
where  loving  is  mentioned  in  the  Word  doing  is 
meant,  and  where  doing  is  mentioned  loving  also 
is  meant;  for  what  I  love,  that  I  do.    [A.E.,  n.  loqg.) 


THOUGHT   FROM    LIGHT   AND  FROM    LOVE.        I9 

About  God  and  about  Divine  things,  w^ich  are 
called  in  heaven  celestial  and  spiritual,  and  in  the 
world  ecclesiastical  and  theological,  there  is  thought 
from  light ;  there  is  also  thought  not  from  light 
about  them.  Those  have  thought  not  from  light 
who  know  about  these  things  but  do  not  under- 
stand them.  Such  are  all  those  at  the  present  day 
who  wish  the  understanding  to  be  kept  under  obedi- 
ence to  faith,  holding  even  that  a  thing  must  be 
believed  and  not  understood,  and  claiming  that  a 
rational  faith  is  not  a  true  faith.  But  these  are 
such  as  are  not  interiorly  in  a  genuine  affetflion 
for  truth,  and  consequently  are  in  no  enlighten- 
ment ;  and  many  of  them  are  in  the  pride  of  self- 
intelligence,  and  in  a  love  of  ruling  over  the  souls 
of  men  by  means  of  the  holy  things  of  the  church, 
not  knowing  that  truth  wishes  to  be  in  the  light, 
since  the  light  of  heaven  is  Divine  truth,  and  that 
a  truly  human  understanding  is  moved  by  that 
light  and  sees  from  it,  and  that  when  the  under- 
standing does  not  see  from  that  light  it  is  the 
memory  that  has  faith  and  not  the  man  ;  and  such 
faith  is  blind,  because  it  is  without  thought  from  the 
light  of  truth  ;  for  the  understanding  is  the  man, 
and  the  memory  is  merely  introdudlory.  If  what 
is  not  understood  must  be  believed  a  man  might 
be  taught  like  a  parrot  to  speak  and  to  remember, 
even  that  there  is  a  holiness  in  the  bones  of  the 
dead  and  in  sepulchres,  that  dead  bodies  perform 
miracles,  that  man  will  be  tormented  in  purgatory 
if  he  does  not  consecrate  his  wealth  to  idols  or  to 
monasteries,  that  men   are  gods  because  heaven 


20 


GOD   AND   MAN. 


and  hell  are  in  their  power,  with  other  like  things 
which  man  must  believe  from  a  blind  faith  and 
from  a  closed  understanding,  and  thus  with  the 
light  of  both  extinguished. 

But  be  it  known  that  all  the  truths  of  the  Word,, 
which  are  the  truths  of  heaven  and  of  the  church, 
can  be  seen  by  the  understanding,  in  heaven  spir- 
itually, in  the  world  rationally ;  for  a  truly  human 
understanding  is  the  sight  itself  of  these  truths,  for 
it  is  separated  from  what  is  material,  and  when 
separated  it  sees  truths  as  clearly  as  the  eye  sees 
objeds ;  it  sees  truths  as  it  loves  them,  for  as  it 
loves  them  it  is  enlightened.  The  angels  have 
wisdom  in  consequence  of  seeing  truths  ;  when, 
therefore,  it  is  said  to  any  angel  that  this  or 
that  must  be  believed  although  it  is  not  under- 
stood, the  angel  answers,  Do  you  think  that  I  am 
insane,  or  that  you  are  a  god  whom  I  am  to  be- 
lieve even  when  I  do  not  see?  It  may  be  some 
falsity  from  helL    {A.£.,  n.  iioo.) 


THOUGHT  ABOUT  THE  TRINITY. 


21 


V. 


Thought  about  the  Trinity. 


Now  as  to  the  dodrine  of  the  Trinity  that  was 
written  by  Athanasius,  and  established  by  a  coun- 
cil at  Nice.  This  dodrine  is  such  that  when  it 
is  read  it  leaves  a  clear  idea  that  there  are  three 
persons,  and  thus  that  there  are  three  unanimous 
Gods,  but  an  obscure  idea  that  God  is  one  ;  and 
yet,  as  has  been  said  above,  the  idea  of  thought  of 
one  God  is  what  chiefly  opens  heaven  to  man,  and 
on  the  other  hand  the  idea  of  three  Gods  closes 
heaven.  Whether  this  Athanasian  dodrine,  when 
it  has  been  read,  leaves  a  clear  idea  that  there  are 
three  persons,  and  thus  three  unanimous  Gods, 
and  whether  this  unanimous  Trinity  gives  rise  to 
the  thought  that  there  is  one  God,  let  every  one 
consider  from  his  own  thought  about  it.  For  it 
is  said  in  the  Athanasian  Faith  in  plain  words, 

"There  is  one  person  of  the  Father,  another  of  the 
Son,  and  another  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  .... 

The  Father  is  uncreate infinite eternal 

Almighty God, ....  Lordr 

Likewise  is  the  Son,  and  likewise  the  Holy  Spirit, 

Also, 

"  The  Father  was  made  and  created  of  none  ; 
The  Son  was  born  of  the  Father ; 


i 


22  GOD   AND   MAN. 

/Ind  the  Holy  Spirit  proceedeth  from  both. 

Thus  there  is  one  Father one  Son and  one 

Holy  Spirit. 
And  in  this  Trinity the  whole  three  persons  are 

co-eternal  and  co-equal." 

From  all  this  no  one  can  think  otherwise  than 
that  there  are  three  Gods  ;  neither  could  Athan- 
asius  or  the  Nicene  Council  think  otherwise;  as 
is  evident  from  these  words  inserted  in  the  doc- 
trine, 

"  Like  as  we  are  compelled  by  the  Christian  verity 
to  acknowledge  every  person  by  Himself  to  be 
God  and  Lord, 
Yet  we  cannot  from  Christian  faith  make  mention  of 
three  Gods  or  three  Lords." 

This  cannot  be  understood  otherwise  than  that  it  is 
allowable  to  acknowledge  three  Gods  and  Lords, 
but  not  to  make  mention  of  them,  or  that  it  is  allow- 
able  to  think  that  there  are  three  Gods  and  Lords, 
but  not  to  say  it.     A.  E ,  n  noa.i 

That  the  dodrine  of  the  Trinity  that  is  called 
the  Athanasian  Faith  leaves  when  it  has  been  read 
an  obscure  idea  that  God  is  one,  and  so  obscure 
as  not  to  remove  the  idea  of  three  Gods,  can  be 
seen  from  this,  that  the  dodrine  makes  one  God 
out  of  three  through  a  unity  of  essence,  saying, 

"  This  is  the  Christian  faith  :  .  ^  •     .     • 

That  we  worship  one  God  in  Trinity,  and  Trinity  tn 

Unity,  J.   .J-       jL 

Neither  confounding  the  persons  nor  dividing  the 

essence." 
And  afterwards. 


THOUGHT   ABOUT   THE  TRINITY., 


23 


"So  that  in  all  things  .  .  .  the  Unity  in  Trinity  and 
the  Trinity  in  Unity  is  to  be  worshipped." 

This  was  said  to  remove  the  idea  of  three  Gods, 
but  it  enters  the  understanding  in  no  other  way 
than  that  there  are  three  persons,  although  they 
all  have  one  Divine  essence,  that  is,  by  Divine  es- 
sence God  is  here  meant ;  and  yet  essence,  like 
divinity,  majesty,  and  glory,  which  are  also  men- 
tioned, is  something  predicated,  and  God  as  a  per- 
son is  the  subjedl ;  consequently  to  say  that  the 
essence  is  God  would  be  like  saying  that  some- 
thing predicated  is  the  subje<ft.  But  the  essence 
is  not  God,  it  belongs  to  God,  as  majesty  and  glory 
are  not  God  but  belong  to  God,  just  as  what  is 
predicated  is  not  the  subjecfl,  but  belongs  to  the 
subje<5^.  This  makes  evident  that  the  idea  of  three 
Gods  as  three  persons  is  not  removed. 

This  may  be  illustrated  by  a  comparison.  Sup- 
pose that  there  are  in  one  kingdom  three  rulers  of 
equal  power,  each  called  king;  then  if  power  and 
majesty  are  meant  by  king,  these  might,  if  it  were  so 
commanded,  be  called  and  declared  king,  although 
it  would  not  be  easy  to  call  them  one  king.  But 
as  a  person  is  meant  when  a  king  is  mentioned, 
it  is  impossible  from  any  command  for  three  kings 
to  be  thought  of  as  one  king.  If,  therefore,  they 
should  say  to  you,  Speak  to  us  as  freely  as  you 
think,  you  would  certainly  say,  Ye  kings  and  Your 
Majesties.  If  you  answer,  As  I  am  commanded  to 
speak  so  do  I  think,  you  are  deceived,  because 
cither  you  are  pretending  or  you  are  compelling 


24 


GOD   AND   MAN. 


i 


THOUGHT   ABOUT  THE   TRINITY. 


yourself,  and  if  you  are  compelling  yourself,  your 
thought  is  not  left  to  itself,  but  inheres   in  your 

words.  . 

That  this  is  so  was  seen  by  Athanasius  ;  there- 
fore he  explains  the  above  words  by  the  following  : 

"Like  as  we  are  compelled  by  Christian  verity  to 
acknowledge  every  person  by  Himself  to  be 
God  and  Lord, 

So  ue  cannot  by  Christian  faith  make  mention  oj 
three  Gods  or  three  Lords." 

This  can  be  understood  only  as  meaning  that  it  is 
allowable  to  acknowledge  three  Gods  and  Lords, 
but  not  to  mention  ihem  ;  or  that  it  is  allowable  to 
think  of  three  Gods  and  Lords,  but  not  to  speak  of 
them,  because  it  is  contrary  to  the  Christian  faith  ; 
also  that  it  is  allowable  to  acknowledge  and  think 
of   three    infinites,   eternals,   uncreates,    and    Al- 
mighties,  because   there   arc   three   persons,   but 
not  to  mention  three  infinites,  eternals,  uncreates, 
and  Almighties,  but  only  one.     Athanasius  added 
the  above  words  to  the  others,  because  no  one,  not 
even  himself,  could  think  otherwise.     But  every 
one  can  speak  otherwise,  and  ought  so  to  speak  in 
all  things,  because  it  is  taught   by  the  Christian 
religion,  that  is,  from  the  Word,  that  there  is  one 
God  and  not  three  Gods.    Moreover,  the  charader- 
istic  assigned  to  each  person  as  his  special  attribute, 
as  to  the  Father  creation,  to  the  Son  redemption, 
and  to  the  Holy  Spirit  enlightenment,  is  not  thus 
one  and  the  same  in  the  three  persons,  and  yet 
they  all  enter  into  the  Divine  essence,  for  creation 


25 


is   Divine,  redemption    is   Divine,  and  enlighten- 
ment is  Divine. 

Furthermore,  does  any  man  who  wishes  to 
change  the  idea  of  three  Gods  into  an  idea  of  one 
God,  think  that  the  Trinity  in  Unity  and  the  Unity 
in  Trinity  is  to  be  worshipped,  neither  confound- 
ing the  persons,  nor  dividing  the  essence?  Who  is 
able  to  do  this  even  by  metaphysical  reasoning 
that  transcends  the  comprehension?  The  simple 
are  wholly  unable  to  do  it,  while  the  learned  hurry 
it  over,  saying  to  themselves.  This  is  my  docflrine 
and  faith  about  God  ;  nor  do  they  retain  therefrom 
in  the  memory  by  any  obscure  idea,  or  in  thought 
from  the  memory,  anything  except  that  there  are 
three  persons  and  one  God,  and  each  one  makes 
one  out  of  three  in  his  own  way ;  but  only  when 
he  speaks  and  writes,  for  when  he  thinks  he  can 
think  only  of  three,  and  of  one  only  from  the 
unanimity  of  the  three ;  and  some  are  unable  to 
do  even  this.  But  listen,  my  reader,  and  do  not 
say  to  yourself  that  this  is  too  harshly  or  too 
boldly  spoken  against  the  faith  universally  ac- 
cepted in  resped  to  the  triune  God,  for  you  will 
see  in  what  follows  that  each  and  every  thing  that 
is  written  in  the  Athanasian  Faith  is  in  agree- 
ment with  the  truth,  if  only  instead  of  three  per- 
sons one  person  in  whom  is  a  trinity  is  believed 

• 

in.    {A.£.,  n.  1103.} 


26 


GOD   AND   MAN, 


VI. 


Thought  about  the  Divine  and  the  Human 

IN  THE  Lord. 


Another  thing  that  the  Athanasian  docflrine 
teaches  is  that  there  are  two  essences  in  the  Lord, 
a  Divine  and  a  Human  essence  ;  and  in  this  there 
is  a  clear  idea  that  the  Lord  has  a  Divine  and  a 
Human,  that  is,  that  the  Lord  is  God  and  Man, 
but  an  obscure  idea  that  the  Divine  of  the  Lord  is 
in  His  Human  as  the  soul  is  in  the  body.  The 
clear  idea  that  the  Lord  has  a  Divine  and  a 
Human  is  drawn  from  these  words  : 

"  The  true  faith  is,  that  we  believe  and  confess  that 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  is 
God  and  Man  ; 

God  of  the  substance  of  the  Father,  begotten  before 
the  world,  and  Afan  of  the  substance  of  the 
mother,  born  in  the  world ; 

Perfect  God  and  f  erf  eel  Man.  consisting  of  a  reason- 
able soul  and  a  human  body  ; 

Equal  to  the  Father  as  touching  the  Divine,  and  in- 
ferior to  the  Father  as  touching  the  Human." 

Here  the  clear  idea  stops  and  goes  no  farther,  be- 
cause it  becomes  from  what  follows  an  obscure 
idea,  and  what  pertains  to  an  obscure  idea,  since  it 
does    not    enter   the    memory    from    enlightened 


THE  DIVINE  and  THE  HUMAN   IN  THE  LORD.       2J 

thought,  gains  no  other  place  there  than  among 
things  not  enlightened  ;  and  as  these  do  not  ap- 
pear before  the  understanding  they  are  hidden, 
and  cannot  be  called  forth  from  the  memory  in 
connedlion  with  things  that  belong  to  the  light. 
In  that  docflrine  the  point  that  is  in  obscure 
thought  is  that  the  Lord's  Divine  is  in  His  Human 
as  the  soul  is  in  the  body  ;  for  on  this  it  is  said, 

"  Who,  although  He  be  God  and  Man,  yet  He  is  not 

two,  but  one  Christ ;  .... 
One  altogether . ...  by  unity  of  person. 
For  as  the  reasonable  soul  and  the  body  is  one  man  so 

God  and  Man  is  one  Christ." 

The  idea  in  this  is  indeed  in  itself  clear,  and  yet 
it  becomes  obscure  by  what  follows, 

"One,  not  by  conversion  of  the  Divine  essence  into 
the  Human,  tut  by  a  taking  of  the  Human 
essence  into  the  Divine  ; 

One  altogether,  not  by  confusion  of  essence  but  by 
unity  of  person." 

As  a  clear  idea  prevails  over  an  obscure  idea, 
so  most  persons,  both  simple  and  learned,  think  of 
the  Lord  as  they  do  of  an  ordinary  man  like 
themselves  ;  and  in  doing  this  they  do  not  think 
at  the  same  time  of  His  Divine  ;  or  if  they  think 
of  the  Divine  they  separate  it  in  their  thought 
from  the  Human,  and  thereby  weaken  the  unity 
of  person.  And  if  they  are  asked  where  His  Di- 
vine is,  they  answer  according  to  their  idea.  In 
heaven  with  the  Father.  They  thus  say  and  think 
because   ihey  have  an  aversion   to  thinking  that 


28 


GOD   AND    MAN. 


the  Human  is  Divine,  and  is  in  heaven  united 
with  its  Divine,  not  knowing  that  when  they  thus 
separate  in  thought  the  Lord's  Divine  from  His 
Human  they  not  only  think  contrary  to  their  doc- 
trine, which  teaches  that  the  Lord's  Divine  is  in 
His  Human  as  the  soul  in  the  body,  and  that  there 
is  a  unity  of  person,  that  is.  that  they  constitute 
one  Person,  but  they  also  charge  that  doc'^rine  un- 
deservedly with  the  contradi<5lion  or  fallacy  that  the 
Lord's  Human  with  its  rational  soul  was  from  the 
mother  alone,  when  in  fad  every  man  is  rational 
by  virtue  of  his  soul,  which  is  from  the  father. 

But   that  there  is  such  a  thought  and  such  a 
separation  is  a  result  of  the  idea  of  three  Gods, 
according  to  which  His  Divine  in  the  Human  is 
from  the  Divine  of   the  Father,  who  is  the  first 
person,  although  it  is  His  own  Divine  which  de- 
scended  from  heaven  and  took   on   the  Human. 
If  this  is  not  rightly  perceived  it  might  perhaps 
be  supposed  that  the  Father,  who  is  the  source,  is 
not  one  Divine  but  threefold  ;    and  yet  this  can- 
not be  accepted  with  any  faith.     In  a  word,  those 
who  separate  the  Divine  from  His  Human,  and  do 
not  think  that  the  Divine  is  in  His  Human  as  a 
soul  in  a  body,  and  that  the  two  are  one  person, 
may  fall  into  strange  ideas  about  the  Lord,  even 
into  an  idea  like  that  of  a  man  separated  from  his 
soul.     Take  heed,  therefore,  not  to  think  of    the 
Lord  as  a  man  like  yourself,  but  think  of  the  Lord 
as  a  Man  who  is  God. 

Listen,  my  reader:   You  may  think  when  yo/ 


THE  DIVINE  AND  THE  HUMAN   IN  THE  LORD.      29 

read  all  this    that   you   have    never  separated  in 
thought  the  Lord's  Divine  from  His  Human,  nor 
in  consequence  His  Human  from  His  Divine  ;  but 
give  attention,  I  pray  you,  to  your  thought  when 
you  have  direcfled  it  to  the  Lord,  and  see  whether 
you  have  ever  thought  that  the  Lord's  Divine  is  in 
His    Human   as  the   soul   is   in   the   body;    and 
whether  you  have  not  thought  instead,  and  even, 
if  you  please,  arc  not  now  thinking,  of  His  Hu- 
man separately  and  of    His    Divine   separately? 
And  when  you  are  thinking  of   His  Human  is  it 
not  in  your  thought  like  the  human  of  any  other 
man  ;  and  when  you  are  thinking  of  His  Divine, 
is  it  not,  in   your  thought,  with   the   Father?     I 
have  questioned  a   great  many  about  this,  even 
primates  of  the  church,  and  they  have  all  answered 
that  it  is  so ;    and  when  I  have  said  that  it  is  ac- 
cording to  the  dodrine  in  the  Athanasian  Faith, 
which  is  the  very  dodrine  of  their  church  respedl- 
ing  God  and  respeding  the  Lord,  that  the  Lord's 
Divine  is  in  his  Human  as  the  soul  is  in  the  body, 
they  have  replied  that  they  were  not  aware  of  it ; 
and  when  I  recited  these  words  of  the  dodlrine, 

"  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Son  of  God a/- 

though  He  be  God  and  Man, 
Yet  He  is  not  two  but  one  Christ ;  .  . . . 

One  altoi:^ether by  unity  of  person. 

For  as  the  reasonable  soul  and  body  is  one  man,  so 

God  and  Man  is  one  Christ," 

they  were   silent,  but   afterwards   confessed   that 
they  had  not  given  attention  to  these  words,  and 


.■.■.^,^  .■.M..«i.oa»....»ja«JJ>.AMaaa.^<j^j|jlga>iDat£yi^^ 


30 


GOD   AND   MAN. 


were  indignant  that  they  had  passed  over  their 
own  doarine  so  carelessly  and  blindly  ;  and  some 
of  them  abandoned  their  mystic  union  of  the  Ui- 
vine  of  the  Father  with  the  Lord's  Human. 

That  the  Divine  is  in  the  Lord's  Human  as  the 
soul  is  in  the  body  the  Word  teaches  and  testi- 
fies in  Matthew  and  in  Luke.     In  Matthew  : 

When  Marv  had  been  betrothed  to  Joseph,  "hefore 
?hev  cime  together,  she  was  found  with  child  of  , 
the  Hol^  Spirit"  And  an  angel  said  to  Joseph  m 
a  drea^.  '^Fear  not  to  take  Marv  thy  bnde  for 
?hat  which  isconceived  in  her  .s  of  the  Holy  Spint 
AndTseph  "knew  her  not  till  she  had  brought 
forth  ■herlrst-bom  son,  and  he  called  h.s  name 
Jesus"  (i.  »8.  20,  25). 

And  in  Luke :  .     . 

The  aneel  said  to  Mary.  "  Behold  thou  shaU  conceive  in 
thf  womb,  and  bring  forth  a  son.  and  shalt  call  his 

namTTesus Alary  said  to  the   angel    How 

shSl  this  thing  be,  seeine  I  know  not  a  »"an  ?  The 
aneel  answered  and  said  unto  her.The  Holy  Spirit 
shfll  come  upon  thee,  and  the  power  ot  the  High- 
est shaU  overshadow  thee,  therefore  that  Holy 
Thing  that  is  born  of  thee  shall  be  called  the  Son 
of  God"  (i.  3».  32.  34.  35)- 

All  this  makes  clear  that  the  Divine  was  in  the 
Lord  from  conception,  and  that  the  Divine  was 
His  life  from  the  Father,  which  life  is  the  soul. 
This  will  suffice  for  the  time.  More  will  be  said 
on  this  subjea  in  what  follows,  where  it  will  be 
shown  that  even  the  things  in  the  Athanasian 
doarine  that  produce  an  obscure  idea  of  the  Lord 
are  in  harmony  with  the  truth  when  the  Trinity 
that  is,  the  Father,  Son.  and  Holy  Spirit,  is  thought 
and  believed  to  be  in  the  Lord  as  in  one  person. 


THE  DIVINE  AND  THE  HUMAN  IN  THE  LORD.      31 

Without  this  thought  and   belief  it  may  be  said 
and  in    aa  It  is  said,  that  Christians,  differentia 
from  all  other  peoples  and  nations  in  the  whole 
globe  that  have  rationality,  worship  three  Gods  • 

ought  to  surpass  all  others  in  the  clearness  of  the 
doarme  and  belief  that  God  is  one  both  in  es. 
sence  and  in  person,    ^a.k,  n.  1,04 ) 


32 


GOD   AND   MAN. 


VII. 
How    FAR    THE    ATHANASIAN    DOCTRINE    OF    THE 

Trinity  is  true. 


It  has  been  shown  that  the  doarine  of  faith 
that  has  its  name  from  Athanasius  leaves  a  clear 
idea,  when  one  reads  it.  that  there  are  three  per- 
sons, and  thus   that  there  are  three  unanimous 
Gods,  and  an  obscure  idea   that  God  is  one,  so 
obscure  that  the  idea  of    three  Gods  is  not   re- 
moved.    And  again,  this  doctrine  leaves  a  clear 
idea  that  the  Lord  has  a  Divine  and  a  Human, 
that  is,  that  the   Lord  is  God  and  Man,  but  an 
obscure  idea  that  the  Divine  and  the  Human  of 
the  Lord  are  one  person,  and  that  His  Divme  is 
in  His  Human  as   the  soul  is  in  the   body.     It 
has  been  also   said  thai  all   things   in  that  doc- 
trine  from   beginning  to  end,  both  such  as  are 
clear  and  such  as  are  obscure,  nevertheless  agree 
and  coincide  with  the  truth,  if  only  instead  of  say- 
ing  that  God  is  one  in  essence  and  three  in  per- 
son, it  is  believed,  as  the  truth  really  is,  that  God 
is  one  both  in  essence  and  in  person. 

There  is  a  trinity  in  God  and  there  is  also  a 
unity.  That  there  is  a  trinity  is  evident  from  the 
passages  in  the  Word  where  the  Father,  Son,  and 
Holy  Spirit  are  mentioned  ;    and  that  there  is  a 


ATHANASIAN    DOCTRINE    OF  THE   TRINITY.        33 

unity,  from  the  passages  in  the  Word  where  it  is 
said  that  God  is  one.     The  unity  in  which  there 
is  a  trinity,  or  the  one  God  in  whom  there  is  a 
trine,  does  not  exist  in  the  Divine  that  is  called 
the  Father,  nor  in   the   Divine  that  is  called  the 
Holy  Spirit,  but  in  the  Lord  alone.     In  the  Lord 
alone  there  is  a  trine,  namely,  the  Divine  which  is 
called  the  Father,  the  Divine  Human  which  is  called 
the  Son,  and  the  Divine  going  forth  which  is  the 
Holy  Spirit ;    and  this  trine  is  one  because  it  is 
of   one  person,  and  may  be  called  a  triune.     In 
what  follows  the  agreement  with  this  of  all  things 
of   the   Athanasian  dodrine  will   be   seen.  First 
respeding   the    trinity;    Secondly,  respeding    the 
unity  of  person  in  the  Lord ;    Thirdly,  that  from 
Divine  providence  it  has  come  to  pass  that  the 
dodlnne  was  so  written  that  while    it    disagrees 
with    the    truth    it    nevertheless    agrees    with    it 
Afterwards  it  will  be  established  in  general,  that 
the  trine  is  in  the  Lord  ;   and  next  in  particular, 
that  the  Divine  that  is  called  the   Father  is  the 
Lord,  that  the  Divine  that  is  called  the  Son  is  the 
Lord,  and  that  the  Divine  that  is  called  the  Holy 
Spirit  IS  the  Lord.    (A£-.,  n.  t,o6  ) 

In  regard  to  the  agreement  of  all  things  of  the 
Athanasian  dodrine  with  this  truth,  that  God  is 
one  both  in  essence  and  person,  in  whom  is  a 
tnne  to  establish  this  agreement  and  make  it  clear 
I  will  proceed  in  the  following  order.  The  Athan- 
asian do(5lrine  first  teaches  thus  : 


"  The  Catholic  faith  is  this 


mt  GOD   AND   MAN. 

7%a/  we  worship  one  God  in  Trinity,  and  Trinity 

in  Unity: 
Neither  confounding  the  persons  nor  dividing  tne 

essence y 
When  in  place  of    three  persons  one  person   in 
whom  is  the  trine  is  understood,  this  is  in  itself  a 
truth,  and  in  a  clear  idea  is  thus  seen  : 

The  Christian  faith  is  this  : 

We  worship  one  God  in  whom  is  a  trine, 
and  a  trine  in  one  God :  and  the  God  in 
whom  is  the  trine  is  one  person,  and  the 
trine  in  God  is  one  essence ;  thus  there 
is  one  God  in  a  trinity,  and  a  trinity  in 
the  unity  ; 

And  neither  are  the  persons  confounded  nor 
is  the  essence  divided. 

That  the  persons  are  not  confounded  and  the  es- 
sence is  not  divided  will  appear  more  clearly  from 

what  follows. 

The  Athanasian  do<flrine  further  teaches: 

"  For  there  is  one  person  of  the  Father,  another  of 
the  Son,  and  another  of  the  Holy  Spirit; 

But  the  Godhead  of  the  Father,  of  the  Son.  and  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  is  one  and  the  same,  and  the 
glory  equal." 

When  in  place  of  three  persons  one  person,  in 
whom  is  the  trine,  is  understood,  this  also  in  itself 
is  a  truth,  and  in  a  clear  idea  is  thus  seen  : 

The  trine  in  the  Lord  as  in  one  Person  is 
the  Divine  that  is  called  the  Father,  the 


4 


ATHANASIAN    DOCTRINE   OF  THE  TRINITY.        35 

Divine  f/uman  thai  is  called  the  Son, 

and  the  Divine  going  forth  that  is  called 
the  Holy  Spirit ; 

But  the  Godhead  or  Divine  essence  of  the 
three  is  one,  the  glory  equal. 
Again, 

"  ^"""^fi  ^^J  f^^'^^''  i''  '«ch  is  the  Son,  and  such  is 
the  Holy  Spirit." 

These  words  come  to  be  understood  thus  : 

Such  as  is  the  Di7>ine  that  is  called  the 
Father,  such  is  the  Divine  that  is  called 
the  Son,  and  such  is  the  Divine  that  is 
called  the  Holy  Spirit. 

And  further, 

"  The  Father  is  un create,  the  Son  is  uncreate,  and  the 

Holy  Spirit  is  uncreate  • 
The  Father  is  infinite,  the  Son  is  infinite,  and  the 
nolv  Spirit  is  infinite  ; 

The  Fatlur  eternal,  the  Son  eternal,  the  Holy  Spirit 
eternal :  ^ 

^Jidyet  they  are  not  three  eternals,  but  one  eternal  • 

Also  there  are  not  three  infinites,  but  one  infinite  ' 
neither  are  there  three  uncreates,  but  one  un- 
create. 

As  the  Father  is  Almighty  the  Son  is  Almighty  and 
the  Holy  Spirit  Almighty  ; 

And  yet  they  are  not  three  Almighties,  but  one  Al- 
mighty. ' ' 

When  in  place  of  three  persons  one  person  in 
whom  is  a  trine  is  understood,  this  also  in  itself 
IS  a  truth,  and  in  a  clear  idea  is  thus  seen: 


36  GOD    AND    MAN. 

As  the  Divine  in  the  Lord  that  is  called  the 
Father  is  uncreate  infinite.  Almighty, 

So  the  Divine  Human  that  is  called  the 
Son  is  uncreate,  infinite.  Almighty, 

And  the  Divine  that  is  called  the  Holy 
Spirit  is  uncreate,  infinite,  and  Al- 
mighty ; 

But  these  three  are  one  ; 

Because  the  Lord  is  one  God,  both  in  essence 
atid  in  person,  in  whom  is  a  trine. 

Again,  in  the  Athanasian  doclrine  this  follows: 

*'As  the  Father  is  God  so  the  Son  is  God  arid  the 

Holy  Spirit  is  God  ; 
And  yet  there  are  not  three  Gods,  but  one  God. 
So  likeivise  the  Father  is  Lord,  the  Son  is  Lord,  and 

the  Holy  Spirit  is  Lord  ; 
And  yet  there  are  not  three  Lords,  but  one  Lord." 

Here  again,  when  in  place  of  three  persons  one 
person  in  whom  is  a  trine  is  understood,  this  in 
a  clear  idea  is  thus  seen  : 

The  Lord  from  His  Divine  that  is  called 
the  Father,  from  His  Divine  Human 
that  is  called  the  Son,  and  from  His 
Divine  going  forth  that  is  called  the 
Holy  Spirit,  is  one  God  and  one  Lord ; 

Since  the  three  Divines  called  by  the  names 
Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit,  are  in  the 
Lord, 

One  in  essence  and  in  person. 


ATHANASIAN  DOCTRINE   OF  THE  TRINITY.         37 

Still  again  : 

"For  like  as  we  are  compelled  by  the  Christian  verity 
to  acknowledge  every  person  by  Himself  to  be 
God  and  Lord, 

So  are  we  forbidden  by  the  Catholic  religion  to  say 
there  be  three  Gods  or  three  Lords." 
(Elsewhere  thus  : 

''Like  as  ive  are  bound  by  Christian  truth  to  ackno-ju- 
ledge  aery  person  to  be  God  or  Lord, 

So  ive  cannot  in  Christian  faith  make  mention  of  three 
Gods  or  three  Lords" 

This  can  be  understood  in  no  other  way  than  that 
by  Christian  truth  we  cannot  help  acknowledging 
and  thinking  three  Gods  and  three  Lords,  yet  it  is 
not  permitted  by  the  Christian  faith  and  religion 
to  speak  of  or  mention  three  Gods  or  three  Lords. 
And  this  is  what  is  done,  for  most  people  think 
of  three  Gods  who  are  of  one  mind,  and  conse- 
quently call  them  a  unanimous  trinity,  and  yet 
they  are  bound  to  say  one  God.  But  with  the 
idea  that  there  are  not  three  persons  but  one  per- 
son, in  place  of  these  words,  which  ought  to  be 
expunged  from  the  Athansian  dodrine,  this  might 
be  said  : 

**  When  we  acknowledge  a  trine  in  the  Lord, 

Then  it  is  from  truth,  and  thus  from  the 

Christian  faith  and  religion,  that  we 

acknowledge  both  with  the  lips  and  the 

heart. 

One  God  and  one  Lord." 

For  if   it  were  permissible  to  acknowledge  and 
think  of  three  it  would  be  permissible  also  to  be- 


38 


GOD   AND   MAN. 


lieve  in  three,  for  believing  or  belief  belongs  to 
the  thought  and  acknowledgment  and  to  the 
speech  therefrom,  and  not  to  the  speech  sepa- 
rately. 

Afterwards  this  follows  : 

*'  The  Father  was  made  of  none,  neither  created  nor 
begotten  ; 

The  Son  is  of  the  Father  alone,  not  made  nor  cre- 
ated, but  begotten  ; 

The  Holy  Spirit  is  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son, 
neither  made  nor  created  nor  begotten,  but 
proceeding. 

So  there  is  one  Father,  not  three  Fathers  ;  one  Son, 
not  three  Sons;  one  Holy  Spirit,  not  three 
Holy  Spirits." 

This  is  wholly  in  agreement  with  the  truth  if  by 
the  Father  the  Divine  of  the  Lord  that  is  called 
the  Father  is  meant,  and  if  by  the  Son  His  Divine 
Human  is  meant,  and  if  by  the  Holy  Spirit  His 
Divine  going  forth  is  meant ;  for  from  the  Divine 
that  is  called  the  Father  the  Divine  Human  that  is 
called  the  Son  was  begotten,  and  from  both  the 
Divine  that  is  called  the  Holy  Spirit  goes  forth. 
But  the  Divine  Human  begotten  of  the  Father 
will  be  spoken  of  particularly  hereafter.  All  this 
makes  clear  that  the  Athanasian  doctrine  agrees 
with  the  truth  that  God  is  one  both  in  essence 
and  in  person,  if  only  in  place  of  three  persons 
one  person,  in  whom  is  a  trine  that  is  called 
Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit,  is  understood.  In 
the  following  chapter  a  like  agreement  will  be  es- 
tablished  respecting   the   unity  of   person  in  the 

Lord.     {A.E.,  n.  1107.; 


ATHANASIAN  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  DIVINE  HUMAN.    39 


VIII. 
How    FAR    THE    ATHANASIAN     DoCTRINE    OF    THE 

Divine  Human  is  true. 

Now  as  to  the  agreement  of  the  Athanasian 
doarine  with  this  truth,  that  the  Lord's  Human  is 
Divine  from  the  Divine  that  was  in  Him  from  con- 
ception. 

That  the  Lord's  Human  is  Divine  does  not 
seem  to  be  in  the  Athanasian  dodrine,  and  vet  it 
IS.  as  is  evident  from  these  words  in  the  dodkine : 

"  ^'"'  ^.S'''^  ^''"'  ^^''"^'  ^^'  '^^'^  of  God^  is  God  and 
Jvlan  /  . . . , 

Who  although  He  be  God  and  Man, yet  He  is  not  two 

but  one  Christ ;  .... 
One  altogether  ....by  untty  of  person  "  fothers.  be- 

/r.,- ^,  ^t  ,,  ^'^"^^  they  are  one  Person). 

For  as  the  reasonable  soul  and  body  is  one  man.  so 
God  and  Man  is  one  Christ." 

Now  as  the  soul  and  body  are  one  man,  and  thus 
one  person,  and  such  as  the  soul  is  such  is  the  body 
It  follows  that  as  His  soul  from  the  Father  was 
Divine,  His  body  also,  which  is  His  Human,  is 
p.vine  He  took,  indeed,  a  body  or  a  human 
form  from  the  mother,  but  this  He  put  off  in  the 
world  and  put  on  a  Human  from  the  Father,  and 
this.is  the  Divine  Human.  It  is  said  in  the  doc- 
trine. 


^O  GOD   AND   MAN. 

^^EiUial  to  the  Father  as  toitchm^!:  the  Divine,  ami 

inferior  to  the  Father  as  touchin^^  the  Hu- 

man.' 

This,  too,  agrees  with  the  truth  when  the  human 

from  the  mother  is  meant,  as  it  is  here.     Again,  in 

the  dodrine  it  is  said, 

••  God  and  Man  is  one  Christ ;  ...  one  not  by  conver- 
sion of  the  Divine  essence  into  the  Human, 
but  by  the  taking  of  the  Human  essence  into 
the  Divine. 
One  altogether,  not  by  confusion  of  substance,  fut 
by  unity  of  person." 

This,  too,  agrees  with  the  truth,  since  the  soul  does 
not  change  itself  into  body,  nor  so  mingle  itself 
with  body  as  to  become  body,  but  it  takes  a  body  to 
itself.  Thus  soul  and  body,  although  the  two  are 
distina,  are  still  one  man,  and  in  respecl  to  the 
Lord,  one  Christ,  that  is.  one  Man  who  is  God. 
More  will  be  said  on  the  Lord's  Divine  Human  in 
what  follows.    (^.£",11.1108.) 

It  was  from  Divine  providence  that  each  and 
every  thing  of  the  Athanasian  dodrine  respeaing 
the  trinity  and  respeaing  the  Lord  is  a  truth  and  is 
harmonious,  when  in  place  of  three  persons  one 
person  in  whom  is  a  trinity  is  understood,  and  it  is 
believed  that  the  Lord  is  that  person.     For  at  that 
time,  if  a  trinity  of  persons  had  not  been  accepted 
they  would  have  become  either  Arians  or  Socinians, 
and  consequently  the  Lord  would  have  been  ac- 
knowledged as  a  mere  man  and  not  as  God ;  and 
by  this  the  Christian  church  would  have  been  de- 
stroyed,  and  heaven  would  have  been  closed  to  the 


ATHANASIAN  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  DIVINE  HUMAN.   41 

man  of  the  church ;  for  no  one  is  conjoined  with 
heaven,  and  after  death  admitted  into  heaven,  un- 
less in  the  idea  of  his  thought  he  sees  God  as  a  Man, 
and  at  the  same  time  believes  God  to  be  one  both 
in  essence  and  in  person,  for  it  is  by  this  that  the 
heathen  are  saved ;  also  unless  he  acknowledges 
the  Lord,  His  Divine  and  His  Human,  for  by  this 
a  man  of  the  Christian  church  is  saved,  provided 
he  lives  at  the  same  time  as  a  Christian. 

It  was  by  Divine  permission  that  the  doclrine 
respecting  God  and  the  Lord,  which  is  the  chief  of 
all  do(flrines,  was  so  conceived  by  Athanasius  ;  for 
it  was  foreseen  by  the  Lord  that  in  no  other  way 
would  the  Roman  Catholics  have  acknowledged 
the  Divine  of  the  Lord,  and  for  the  same  reason 
even  to  this  day  they  separate  His  Divine  from 
His  Human.  Neither  would  the  Reformed  have 
seen  the  Divine  in  the  Human  of  the  Lord,  for 
those  who  are  in  faith  separated  from  charity  do 
not  see  this.  Nevertheless  both  of  them  acknovvl- 
edge  the  Divine  of  the  Lord  in  a  trinity  of  per- 
sons. And  yet  this  dodrine  that  is  called  the 
Athanasian  Faith  was  by  the  Lord's  Divine  provi- 
dence so  written  that  all  things  in  it  are  truths, 
provided  that  in  place  of  three  persons  one  person 
in  whom  is  a  trine  is  recognized,  and  it  is  believed 
that  the  Lord  is  that  person.  Moreover,  it  was 
from  providence  that  they  are  called  persons,  for 
a  person  is  a  man,  and  a  Divine  person  is  God  who 
is  a  Man.  This  has  been  revealed  at  this  day  for 
the  sake  of  a  new  church,  which  is  called  the  Holy 
Jerusalem.    [A.E.,n.i\o()., 


42 


GOD   AND   MAN. 


IX. 


The  Trinity  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 


That  there  is  in  the  Lord  a  trine,  the  Divine 
itself  that  is  called  the  Father,  the  Divine  Human 
that  is  called  the  Son,  and  the  Divine  going  forth 
that  is  called  the  Holy  Spirit,  can  be  seen  from 
the  Word,  from  the  Divine  essence,  and  from 
heaven. 

From  the  IVord .—VJ here  the  Lord  Himself 
teaches  that  the  Father  and  He  are  one,  and  that 
the  Holy  Spirit  goes  forth  from  Him  and  from  the 
Father ;  also  where  the  Lord  teaches  that  the 
Father  is  in  Him  and  He  in  the  Father,  and  that 
the  Spirit  of  Truth,  which  is  the  Holy  Spirit,  does 
not  speak  from  Himself  but  from  the  Lord;  and 
again,  from  passages  in  the  Old  Word  where  the 
Lord  is  called  "  Jehovah,"  "  Son  of  God,"  and  "  the 
Holy  One  of  Israel." 

From  the  Divine  Essence  .—That  one  Divine  by 
itself  is  not  possible,  but  there  must  be  a  trine. 
This  trine  is  being  [esse)  coming  forth  lexistere)  and 
going  forth  [procedere)^  for  being  must  necessarily 
come  forth,  and  when  it  has  come  forth  it  must  so 
go  forth  as  to  have  effed.     And  this  trine  is  one 


THE  TRINITY    IN   THE   LORD  JESUS   CHRIST.        43 

in  essence  and  one  in  person,  and  is  God.  This 
may  be  illustrated  by  a  comparison.  An  angel  of 
heaven  is  trinal  and  thus  one  ;  the  esse  of  an  angel 
IS  what  is  called  his  soul,  his  existere  is  what  is 
called  his  body,  and  procedere  from  both  is  what 
is  called  the  sphere  of  his  life,  without  which  an 
angel  has  neither  existence  nor  being.  By  this 
trine  an  angel  is  an  image  of  God,  and  is  called  a 
"son  of  God,"  and  also  an  "heir,"  and  even  a 
"god;"  nevertheless,  an  angel  is  not  life  from 
himself,  but  is  a  recipient  of  life  ;  God  alone  is  life 
from  Himself. 

From  Heaven  .-—The  Divine  trine,  which  is  one 
m  essence  and  in  person,  is  such  in  heaven.     The 
Divine  called  the  Father,  and  the  Divine  Human 
called  the  Son,  appear  in  heaven  before  the  angels 
as  a  sun,  and  the  Divine  that  goes  forth  therefrom 
appears  as  light  united  to  heat ;  thr  light  is  Divine 
truth,   and   the   heat   is   Divine   good.    Thus   the 
Divine  called  the  Father   is   the  Divine  esse,  the 
Divine  Human  called   the  Son  is  the  Divine  ex^ 
istere   from  that  esse,  and    the   Divine   called   the 
Holy  Spirit  is  the  Divine  procedere  from  the  Di- 
vine existere  and  from  the  Divine  esse.     This  trine 
is  the  Lord  in  heaven ;   His  Divine  love  is  what 
appears  there  as  a  sun.    [a.E.,  n.  im.) 

It  has  been  said  that  one  Divine  by  itself  is  not 
possible,  but  that  there  must  be  a  trine,  and  that 
this  trine  is  one  God  in  essence  and  in  person.  It 
may  now  be  asked,  What  trine  God  had  before 
the  Lord  took  on  the  Human  and  made  it  Divine 


44 


GOD   AND   MAN. 


in  the  world?    God  was  then  likewise  ^  Man  and 

u  rr  nivine   a  Divine  Human,  and  a  DiMne  go- 

for?h   tha'tls   a  Divine  .■..<•.  a  Divine  ex.sUre 
ing  forth,  thai  is,  a  ^^  q^j 

and  a  Divine /W^«.  fo-^  "■I'^'R^tV  Divine 

Outmosts  are  meant  by     nesn  an 
even  these  were  made  Divine  by  the  Lord  wneti 
He  was  in  the  world.  This  was  what  was  added 
\  ,hi«  is  the  Divine  Human  that  God  now  has. 
This   too  may  be  illustrated  by  this  comparison. 
^^:Van.errs  a  man.  '--in^a  ->    ^^    "^^/^ 
bodv,  and  having  a  going  forth     and  jet 

not  make  him  a  complete  >"^"^  f^.  Xorld  has- 
have  flesh  and  bones  as  a  man  in  the  world  has 
That  the  Lord  made  His  Human  Divine  even 

to  iu  outmosts,  which  are  called  ; ««Vn  theTIaw 
He  made  clear  to  the  disciples,  who,  when  they  saw 
Him  believed  that  they  saw  a  spirit,  saying. 

ye  behold  .Mc  havinj;'    ,/-»*'  "'»    39  ■ 

From  this  it  follows  that  God  now  is  more  a  man 
fn  T  ^n   aneel   is.    Comparison   has   been  made 
wi*  angetand  with  man  ;   yet  it  must  be  under- 
stood that  God  has  life  in  Himself,  while  an  ange 
does  not  have  life  in  himself,  f- ^e  .  a  recipien 
of  life.    That  the  Lord  in  respect  ^"/".'"Himse  f 
vine  and  to  the  Divine  Human  is  life  in  Himself 

He  teaches  in  John  : 


THE   TRINITY   IN   THE    LORD   JESUS   CHRIST.        45 

"As  the  Father  hath  Hfe  ,n  Himself  so  gave  He  to  the 
Son  to  have  hfe  in  Himself"  (v.  26] 

Here  by  "  Father"  the  Lord  means  the  Divine  in 

Himself ;  for  He  says  elsewhere  that  the  Father 

is  in  Him,  and  that  the  Father  and  He  are  one. 
(A.£.,  n.  1112}. 


46 


GOD   AND   MAN. 


X. 


The  God-Man. 

Some  in  the  Christian  world  have  formed  to 
themselves  an  idea  of  God  resembling  their  idea 
of  ^e  universe,  others  like  the  idea  of  nature  in 
her  inmosts,  others  like  the  idea  of  a  cloud  in 
some  eTherekl  space,  others  like  the  idea  of  a  ray 
oHight  and  others  no  idea  at  all  and  a  few  only 
think  o   God  as  a  Man  ;  and  yet  God  is  a  Man. 

There  are  several  reasons  why  Christians  have 
formed  such  Meas  of  God.    The  first  is  that  they 
beireve  from  their  dodrine  in  three  Divine  persons 
d    ana  from  each  other;  -  the  Father  as  the  in- 
visible  God,  and  in  the  Lord,  but  not  that  He  is 
God  in  respea  to  His  Human.     The  second  rea- 
?on  is  that'they  believe  God  to  be  ^Pf.  an^ 
they  conceive  of  a  spirit  as  a  wind  or  as  a  r  o r 
ether,  and  yet  every  spirit  is  a  -an.     The  third 
reason  is  that  Christians,  in  consequence  of  their 
faith  alone  without  life,  have  become  worldly  and 
from  love  of  self  have  become  <^"^P«^;^^'^^f  ^/^^^ 
worldly  and  corporeal  man  sees  ^^f  ;"^>  .^^^^°^^ 
space,  thus  as  the  whole  inmost  in  the  unnerse 
or  in  nature,  consequently  as  extended.     But  God 
n.ust  not  be  regarded  from  space,  for  j"  ^^^  ^P/J'  ; 
ual  world  there  is  no  space  ;  space  in  that  world  is 


THE    GOD-MAN. 


47 


only  an  appearance  derived  from  something  like 
it.  In  this  way  does  every  sensual  man  see  God 
because  he  has  little  thought  above  his  speech  • 
and  the  thought  that  pertains  to  speech  says  to' 
itself  "What  the  eye  sees  and  the  hand  touches 
that  I  know  to  be,"  and  everything  else  it  sets 
aside  as  mere  words. 

These  are  the  reasons  why  there  is  no  idea  of 
God  as  a  Man  in  the  Christian  world.     That  there 
is  no  such  idea,  and  even  that  there  is  a  repugnance 
to  It,  will  be  seen  if  you  will  examine  yourself  and 
even  think  of  the   Divine  Human;    and  vet  the 
Lord's  Human  is  Divine.     But  these  ideas  of  God 
are  not  so  much  the  ideas  of  the  simple  as  of  the 
intelligent,  for  many  of  the  intelligent  are  blinded 
by  the  pride  of  self  intelligence,  and  are  in  conse- 
quence infatuated  by  what  they  know,  according  to 
the  Lord's  words  in  Matthew  (xi.  25  ;  xiii.  13-15). 
But  let  it  be  known  that  all  who  see  God  as  a  Man 
see  Him  from  the  Lord,  and  all  others  see  Him 

from  self ;  and  those  who  see  from  self  do  not  see. 
[A.E.^  n.  1114., 

But  I  will  relate  what  cannot  but  seem  wonder- 
ful. In  the  thought  of  his  spirit  every  man  sees 
God  as  a  Man,  even  he  who  in  the  thought  of  his 
body  sees  Him  like  a  cloud,  a  mist,  air,  or  ether, 
and  even  he  who  has  denied  that  God  is  a  Man! 
A  man  is  in  the  thought  of  his  spirit  when  he 
thinks  abstraaiy,  and  in  the  thought  of  his  body 
when  he  does  not  think  abstractly.  That  every 
man  in  the  thought  of  his  spirit  sees  God  as  a  Man 
has  been  made  evident  to  me  by  men  after  death, 


48 


GOD   AND    MAN. 


who  are  then  in  the  ideas  of  the  spirit ;  for  after 
death  men  become  spirits,  and  then  it  is  impos- 
sible  for  them  to  think  of  God  otherwise  than  as  a 

Man.  .        ,  ,  , 

An  experiment  was  made  whether  they  could 
think  otherwise,  and  for  this  purpose  they  were 
let  down  into  the  state  in  which  they  had  been  in 
the  world,  and  then  they  thought  about  God.     The 
thought  of  some  was  that  of  the  universe,  others 
that  of  nature  in  her  inmosts,  others  that  of  a  cloud 
in  the  midst  of  ether,  others  that  of  a  ray  of  light, 
and  others  thought  in  other  ways  :  but  the  moment 
they  came  out  of  that  state  into  a  state  of  the  spirit 
thev  thought  of  God  as  a  Man.     At  this  they  were 
surprised,  and  declared  that  it  was  something  im- 
planted in  every  spirit.     But  evil  spirits  who  have 
denied  God  in  the  world  deny  Him  also  after  death, 
and  yet  in  place  of  God  they  worship  some  spirit 
who  gains  ascendency  over  the  rest  by  means  of 

diabolical  arts.  ,  ^    .  1,1 

It  has  been  said  that  to  think  of  God  as  a  Man 
has   been    implanted   in   every   spirit.     That  this 
comes  through  an  influx  of  the  Lord  ^nto  the  in- 
teriors  of  their  thoughts  is  evident  from  the  fa^ 
that   in   all   the  heavens  angels  acknowledge  the 
Lord  alone.     They  acknowledge  His  Divine  which 
is  called  the  Father,  they  behold  His  Divine  Hu- 
man,  and  thev  are  in  the  Divine  that  goes  forth, 
for  the  whole  angelic  heaven  is  the  Lord  s  Divme 
that  goes  forth.     An  angel  is  not  an  angel  from 
what  is  his  own,  but  from  the  Divine  that  he  re- 
ceives  from  the  Lord.     From  this  they  are  in  the 


THE   GOD-MAN. 


49 


are  and  fron,  wh on,    he."     ^k      Add  ."'r  '"^^ 
the  whole  antreijr  k«  ^^^  ^^  ^^is  that 

Lord  V^'^/"^^^^^  heaven  m  its  complex  before  the 

Have  direaion  'C:tcZ%:r:o'"^:  fz'^i 

angels  of  the  th'^-ee  hea  ens  hL  of  r  i"  ""'"'•  ^" 
and  are  unable  .o  think  o"er^"se'  ufiT  "  'l""' 
to  think  otherwise  thr        "^^^'^f '     "  they  wished 

would  JlrZ%l':T'  Th°f  .r "•  ^"1  '"^^ 
^very  spirit  and  to  every  man   wh^     ^  "•  '""^   '^ 

coTat^trn^:^-''-"-^^^^^^ 

human  form  more  thlv,  tu         '^^'^'^  ^^d  under  a 

Abraham^  that  he  s-lt°L\  "?"  '°  '"°'"''  ^  ^"^ 
three  angels  and  rhTt  ^         ""^  '"   ""^  "'d^'    "f 

Jehovah'a^  o  appeared  a^^m  7' H '"°  "'  ''"'"'■ 
eon,  to  Joshua  to  n  ,  ^"  *°  "^K^"''  <°  Gid- 
and  as  ",1,75  '°  Dan.el  as  "the  Ancient  of  days- 
Son  of  man t"the"^",' '  "'j-- '^ '""n  as  "  the 

also  to  o?her  proohetr   T^°'  '"''"  lampstands  ;" 
prophets.     That  it  was  the  Lord  who 


— "-'"'^  "'!•  ■'■"■jiiiik'jii ji'wteirrtiwiMBjWrW'IIBf^ 


50 


GOD   AND    MAN. 


was  seen  by  these  He  Himself  teaches  where  He 
says, 

That  Abraham  rejoiced  to  see  His  day,  and  that  he 
saw  and  was  glad  ( 7t'/tn  viii.  56   : 

Also  that  He  was  betore  Abraham  was  (verse  58)  ; 

And  that  He  was  betore  the  world  was  .7ohrt  xvii.  5,  24^. 

It  was  not  the  Father  but  the  Son  that  was  seen, 
because  the  Divine  fsse,  which  is  the  Father,  can- 
not be  seen  except  by  means  of  the  Divine  extstere, 
which  is  the  Divine  Human.  That  the  Divine  esst, 
which  is  called  the  Father,  was  not  seen,  the  Lord 
teaches  in  john  : 

••The  Father  who  hath  sent  Me,  He  hath  borne  wit- 
ness of  Me.  Ye  have  neither  heard  His  voice  at 
any  time  nor  seen  His  form  "  (v.  37). 

In  the  same, 

"  Not  that  anv  one  hath  seen  the  Father  save  He  that  is 
with  "  the  Father.  "  He  hath  seen  Uic  Father     (vi. 

46). 

And  in  the  same, 

"No  one  hath  seen  God  at  any  time  ;  the  only-begotten 
Son,  who  is  m  the  bosom  of  the  Father,  He  hath 
brought  Him  forth  to  view"  (i.  18]. 

From  this  it  is  clear  that  the  Divine  rsse,  which  is 

the  Father,  was  not  seen  by  the  ancients,  nor  could 

it  be  seen  ;    nevertheless  it  was  seen  by  means  of 

the  Divine  existen\  which  is  the  Son. 

Since  an  esse  is  in  its  existere  as  a  soul  is  in  its 

body,  so  he  who  sees  the   Divine  existere  or   the 

Son  sees  also  the  Divine  esse  or  Father,  as  the  Lord 

shows  in  these  words  : 

••Philip  said, Lord,  show  us  the  Father Tesus 

said  unto  him,  Have  I  been  so  long  time  with  you 


THE   GOD-MAN. 


51 


hafh  ?/;„  te"  h?.?^  se"e7?he''Fatr'"P^     ^^  ^^^ 
thou.  Show  us  the' Fa?h%7rMVf/«  xTv'  t^)  ''^^^^ 

These  words  show  that  the  Lord  is  the  Divine  ex. 
istere  m  which  is  the  Divine  ....,  thus  the  God-Man 
who  was  seen  by  the  ancients.  From  what  has 
been  cited  u  follows  also  that  the  Word  is    o  be 

saying  that  God  has  a  face,  that  He  has  eyes  and 
ears  and  that  He  has  hands  and  feet.    (^.^.^.  ^f^.J 

Plan  ted  in  ""  '^'  '^^^  "'  ^^^  ^^  ^  ^^^  ^^  '^-^' 
hive  wor.h"''7"'i'^"'  many  peoples  and  nations 
Deared  r.h''^''^  ^"^'  ^^^  either  were  men  or  ap. 
peared  to  them  as  men  ;  as  Greece,  Italy,  and  cer- 
tain kingdoms  under  their  rule  worshipped  Saturn 
Jupiter,  Neptune.   Pluto.  Apollo,  Mercury.  Juno' 

anrasr-H  ^"^'7'""^  ^"^  ^^^  b°>^  and''o  hers,' 
and  ascribed  to  them  the  government  of  the  uni: 

per  on.    h'^  distributed  divinity  among  so  many 

a  Man  '     TT  ^r"^  '"^"^^^°"  ^^^y  ^-^  God  as 
a  Man    and  therefore  viewed   all   the   attributes 
properties,  and  qualities  of  God  as  persons,  fnd  in 

and   knoT/'"   "^"^^'  "^^^'^-'  inclinations" 
and   knowledges   as   persons.     It   was  also  from 

IboTcV'"  ^'^  ^"'^^'""^^  ^^  ^^^  count trund 
about  Canaan,  as  well  as  those  of  the  regions  within 

ir  M  rr ^  ^"^^•"^'  ^^^^-°^h'  Beelzebub  Ch" 

hTdtra:^-r^^^'-^-^---ofwho; 

Again,  it  is  from  intuition  that  in  Christian 
heathenism  at  this  day  there  are  those  who  worsMo 
-.nts  as  gods,  bending  the  knee  before  the7r  Wols^ 


5a 


GOD  AND  MAN. 


THE  LORD  THE  ONLY  MAN, 


embracing  them,  baring  the  heacj  before  them  in 
the  ways  where  they  are  set  up,  and  worshipping 
at  their  graves  ;  and  even  doing  the  same  to  the 
pope,  whose  shoes  and  even  his  footsteps  they 
press  with  their  lips,  and  would  salute  him  as  a 
god  if  religion  allowed  it. 

These  and  other  pradices  are  from  an  intuition, 
that  is,  a  desire  to  worship  a  visible  god  and  not 
an  airy  something  which  is  nothing  but  a  vapor 
to  them.  But  the  idea  of  God  as  a  Man  that  flows 
in  from  heaven  is  so  perverted  with  many  that 
either  a  man  of  the  world  or  an  idol  is  worshipped 
in  place  of  God,  comparatively  as  the  bright  light 
of  the  sun  is  turned  into  colors  not  beautiful,  and 
its  summer  heat  into  foul  stenches,  according  to 
the  objedls  upon  which  they  fall.  But  it  is  for 
reasons  stated  above  that  the  idea  of  God  becomes 
an  idea  of  a  little  cloud  or  of  a  mist,  or  of  the  in- 
most of  nature,  ideas  that  exist  among  Christians 
but  rarely  among  other  nations  who  enjoy  any 
light  of  reason,  as  the  Africans  and  some  others. 
{A.E.,  n.  1118.) 


53 


XI. 


The  Lord  the  only  Man. 
Ma Jif 'nf.n'^  ^'  -^  -^'""  ^"^  '^^'  ^he  Lord  is  that 

human   for,^^  'I  '""  '^'"^'  ^'^  ^"^er  in  the 
numan   lorm    or   have   reference   tn   ti,«    1, 

form  ;  the  whole  heaven  is  ,n  ,h-  h  ^"""'" 

SP  J  henLh-Ve  ^hl^n/rTni  ittfh—Z 
vea  ed  ,0  me  that  all  things  both  least  and  grelt" 

thit  fo  r,    "'.  ""T^'^'^'y  f™"  "^^  Lord  fre  in 
that  form,  for  that  which  goes  forth  from  God  is 

Because   they  are   recipients  of   the   Divine   that 

beautv°whf7.  "■^'-°^'^'  '"^  '"^"  °f  -"derf^ 
beauty,  wh  le  the  sp.rits  in  the  hells,  because  thev 

Lord   ar'^H  "'•;"'  °"''"^  '"="  8°-^  f°«h  f"o-  th^ 

do  ntTJr    '•  '"'*  '"  '"^  "8*"  °f  heaven  the^ 
do  not  appear  as  men  but  as  monsters.     And  on 


54 


GOD    ANI)    MAN. 


this  account  it  is  known  in  the  spiritual  world 
from  each  one's  human  form  how  much  he  de- 
rives from  the  Lord.  From  all  this  it  can  be  seen 
that  the  Lord  is  the  only  Man,  and  that  every  one 
is  a  man  according  to  his  reception  of  Divine 
good  and  Divine  truth  from  the  Lord.  In  a  word, 
he  who  sees  God  as  a  Man  sees  God,  because  he 
sees  the  Lord.     And  the  Lord  says, 

"He  that   seeth  the   Son    and    believeth    in   Him    hath 
eternal  hfe  "  [John  vi.  40;. 

*'To  see  the  Son"  is  to  see  Him  in  spirit,  for  this 
is  said  also  to  those  who  did  not  see  him  in  the 
world.    'A.E.,  n.  H19. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  Lord  is  the  only 
Man,  and  that  all  are  men  according  to  their  re- 
ception of  Divine  good  and  Divine  truth  from 
Him.  The  Lord  is  the  only  Man  because  He  is 
life  itself ;  while  all  others  are  recipients  of  life 
because  they  are  men  from  Him.  The  difference 
between  the  Man  who  is  life  and  the  man  who  is 
a  recipient  of  life  is  like  the  difference  between 
the  uncreate  and  the  created,  or  between  the  in- 
finite and  the  finite,  a  difference  that  admits  of  no 
ratio,  for  there  is  no  possible  ratio  between  the 
infinite  and  the  finite,  thus  there  is  none  between 
God  as  a  Man  and  any  other  as  a  man,  whether 
angel  or  spirit  or  a  man  in  the  world. 

That  the  Lord  is  life  He  Himself  teaches  in 
John  : 

*'Thf  Word  was  with  God.  and  the  Word  was  God  ;. . . 
in  Him  was  hte,  and  thr  hfe  waa  the  Hght  ot  men. 
And  the  Word  became  flesh"   i.  1,  4,  14). 


fl >i  ii'iiii#t<»i" 


THE   LORD    THE   ONLY   MAN. 


55 

In  the  same. 

"As  the  Father  hath  life  in  H.rr,.   i« 

Son  to  have  lite  in  Si'iSJselP'Tv  '.I'  ^^'"  ""  ^°  *^^ 
In  the  same, 

"^'  ^.^^V^^,  -"'  Me.  and  ,  also  .i,e 
In  the  same, 

"I  am  the  Resurre<5tion  and'the  Life"  ix\  2O 
In  the  same,  ' 

"I  am  the  Way.  the  Truth,  and  the  Life  "  (xiv  6) 

^^'^^^tr:^'^  Word  He 

and  "The  Tree  of  ut  ' al  o  ''.  th.  l'  ^'^'^  "'  ^^'^ '" 
*'  the  God  that  li veth  •'  ^^'^"^  "^^^ '"  ^"^ 

As  He  is  life,  and  every  man  is  a  recipient  of 
life  from  H,m.  He  also  teaches  that  He  Xs  jf 
and  makes  alive,  as  in  John :  ^         ^'^^ 

"As  the  Father... makes  aliv^       *\.^  o 

alive"  v.  21}.  aiive,...the  Son  also  makes 

In  the  same. 

In  the  same,  ^^^ 

•'  Hecause  I  live  ye  shall  live  also"  (xiv.  ,9). 

Also  in  many  passages,  that  He  ^ives  life  m 
those  who  believe  in  Him.     And  for  thTsreaso^ 
God  IS  called  "a  fountain  of  life"  (PsaL  vv 
9).  and  elsewhere,  "  Creator,"  "  Maker  -  Fn  !: 

also  "  Potter  "  and  wp  "  thJ   1     ^^^^'^'      Former," 

His  hands  "    A?r  a-      /  ""^^^^  ^"^  ^^^  "^^'^  of 
nis  nands.      As  God  is  life,  it  follows  that  in  Hio, 

we  hve,  „>ovc.  and  have  our  being.    ,!,t  n  .." 7 


ilfeiait: 


56 


GOD   AND   MAN. 


XII. 

MAN    CREATED  TO    RECEIVE  THE  DIVINE  LiFE. 

Life   regarded  in  itself,  which  is  God,  cannot 
create  another  that  shall  be  the  only  life  ;   for  the 
life  that  is  God  is  uncreate,  continuous,  and   in- 
separable ;    and  from  this  it  is  that  God  is  one. 
But  the  life  that  is  God  can  create  forms  out  of 
substances  that  are  not  life,  in  which  it  can  dwelU 
and  give  to  them  the  appearance  of  living,     buch 
forms  are  men ;  and  since  they  are  receptacles  of 
life  they  could  not  when  first  created  be  any  thing 
else  than  images  and  likenesses  of  God ;    images 
from  the  reception  of  truth  and  likenesses  from 
the  reception  of  good;    for  life  and  its  recipient 
are  fitted  to  each  other  as  the  adive  and  the  pas- 
sive but  do  not  mingle.     For  this  reason  human 
forms,  which  are  recipients  of  life.  Hve.  not  from 
themselves,  but  from  God  who  alone  is  life  ;  con- 
sequently.  as  is  well  known,  every  good  of  love 
and  every  truth  of  faith  is  from  God.  and  nothing 
of  these  is  from  man  ;   for  if   man  had  the  least 
portion  of  life  as  his  own  he  would  be  able  to  will 
and  do  good  from  himself,  and  to  understand  and 
believe    truth    from    himself,   and   thus    to   claim 
merit ;    and  yet  if  he  so  believes,  the  form   re- 
cipient of   life   closes  itself   above  and  becomes 


MAN  CREATED  T(J  RECEIVE  THE  DIVINE  LIFE.     57 

perverted,  and  intelligence  perishes.  Good  and 
its  love  and  truth  and  its  faith  are  the  life  that  is 
God,  for  God  is  good  itself  and  truth  itself;  and 
therefore  in  these  God  dwells  in  man. 

From  all  this  it  follows,  that  man  of  himself 
is  nothing,  and  is  something  only  so  far  as  he 
receives  from  the  Lord,  and  at  the  same  time  ac- 
knowledges that  it  is  not  his  own  but  is  the 
Lord's  ;  then  the  Lord  gives  him  to  be  something, 

yet  not  from  himself  but  from  the  Lord.  ia.£.  n. 
1121.)  ' 

The  appearance  to  man  is  that  he  lives  from 
himself,   but   this   is   a  fallacy;    if  it  were  not  a 
fallacy  man  would  be  able  to  love  God  from  him- 
self, and  be  wise  from  himself.    The  appearance 
is  that  life  is  in  man,  because  it  flows  in  from  the 
Lord   into   his   inmosts,  which   are   far   removed 
from  the  sight  of  his  thought,  and  thus  from  per- 
ception ;    also  for  the   reason  that  the  principal 
cause  which   is  life  and  the   instrumental  cause 
which  is  recipient  of  life  ad  together  as  one  cause, 
and  this  is  felt  in  the  instrumental  cause  which  is 
the  recipient,  that  is,  in  man,  as  if  it  were  in  him. 
It  is  exadtly  the  same  as  our  feeling  that  the  light, 
which  is  the  cause  of  sight,  is  in  the  eye,  and  that 
sound,  which  is  the  cause  of    hearing,  is  in  the 
ear,  and  that  the  volatile  particles  in  the  air  that 
cause  smell  are  in  the  nose,  that  the  soluble  parti- 
cles of  food  that  cause  taste  are  on  the  tongue  ; 
when  the  truth  is  that  the  eyes,  the  ears,  the  nose, 
and    the    tongue,   are    recipient    organized    sub- 
stances, that  is,  instrumental  causes,  while  light, 


j8  GOD   AND    MAN. 

sound,  the  volatile  particles  in  the  air,  and  the 
soluble  particles  on  the  tongue,  are  the  principal 
causes,  and  these  ad  together  as  one  cause  ;  that 
which  ads  is  called  the  principal,  and  that  which 
suffers  itself  to  be  ac'led  upon  is  called  the  instru- 
mental. 

He  who  examines  the  subjea  more  deeply  can 
see  that  man,  in  resped  to  each  and  every  thing 
pertaining  to  him,  is  an  organ  of  life,  and  that 
what  produces  sensation  and  perception  flows  in 
from  without,  and  that  the  life  itself  is  what 
causes  man  to   feel  and   to  perceive  as    if    from 

himself. 

Another  reason  why  life  appears  to  be  in  man 
is  that  the  Divine  love  is  such  that  it  desires  its 
own  to  be  man's,  and  yet  it  teaches  that  it  is  not 
man's.  And  the  Lord  wills  that  man  should  think 
and  will  and  in  consequence  speak  and  ad  as  if 
from  himself,  and  yet  should  acknowledge  that 
this  is  not  done  from  himself.  Otherwise  man 
could  not  be  reformed.    [A.£.,n.  1122.J 


THE   DIVINE    HUMAN    LIFE. 


59 


XIII. 

The  Divine  Hu.man  Life. 

When  it  is  said  and  thought  that  life  itself  is 
God,  or  that  God  is  life  itself,  and  with  this  there 
IS  no  Idea  of  what  life  is,  then  beyond  these  ex- 
pressions there  is  no  understanding  of  what  God 
s.     In  the  thought  of  man  there  are  two  ways  of 
thmkmg.  one  abstrad,  which  is  spiritual,  and  one 
not  abs  racl.  which   ,s  natural.     The  abstrac-^   or 
spiritual  thought  about  the  life  which   is  God  is 
that  It  IS  love  itself  and  that  it  is  wisdom  itself 
and  that  love  is  of  wisdom  and  that  wisdom  is  of 
love.     But  the  thought  that  is  not  abstrad  or  is 
natural  about  the  life   which  is  God  is  that  His 
love  IS  like  fire  and  His  wisdom  like  light,  and 
that  together  they  are  like  a  sunbeam.    This  nat- 
ural thought    is   acquired    from   correspondence 
for  fire  corresponds  to  love  and  light  corresponds 
to  wisdom,  and  therefore  in  the  Word  "fire"  sie 
nifies  love    and  "light"  signifies    wisdom.     And 
when  there  is  preaching  from  the  Word  there  is  also 
a  prayer  that  heavenly  fire  (which  means  the  Divine 
ove)  may  warm  all  hearts,  and  that  heavenlv  light 
(which  means  the  Divine  wisdom)  may  enlighten 
all  minds. 

The  Divine  love,  which  in  the  Divine  wisdom 
dom  ,s  the  life  itself  which   is  God,  is  not  in  its 


■  M^iwiSf J^rj^^lfcrfffiffl^'^*^ 


60 


GOD   AND    MAN. 


essence  thinkable,  for  it  is  infinite  and  thus  tran- 
scends comprehension,   but    in   its    appearance  it 
is  thinkable.     Before  the  eyes  of  angels  the  Lord 
appears  as  a  sun,  and  from  that  sun  heat  goes  forth 
and  light  goes  forth.     The  sun  is  Divine  love,  the 
heat  is  Divine  love  going  forth,  which    is  called 
Divine  good,  and  the  light  is  Divine  wisdom  going 
forth,  which  is  called  Divine  truth.     And  yet  the 
life  that  is  God  must  not  be  thought  of  as  a  fire 
or  heat   or   light,  unless  there  goes  with   it   the 
thought  at  the  same  time  of  love  and  of  wisdom, 
that  is,  that  the  Divine  love    is  like  fire,  and  the 
Divine  wisdom  is  like  light,  and  the  Divine  love 
and  the  Divine  wisdom  together  are  like  a  sun- 
beam.    For  God  is  a  complete  Man,  in  face  like  a 
Man  and  in  body  like  a  Man.  with  no  difference  in 
respedl  to  form  but  only  in  respecl  to  essence;  His 
essence  is  that  He  is  love  itself  and  wisdom  itself, 
thus  life  itself.    {A.E.,  n.  1124- 

No  idea  of  the  life  that  is  God  can  be  had  unless 
an  idea  of  the  degrees  by  which  life  descends  from 
its  inmosts  to  its  outmosts  is  gained.  There  is  an 
inmost  degree  of  life  and  there  is  an  outmost  de- 
gree of  life  and  there  are  intermediate  degrees  of 
life ;  the  distindion  between  these  is  like  the  dif- 
ference between  things  prior  and  things  posterior, 
for  a  posterior  degree  springs  from  a  prior  one,  and 
so  on.  Again,  the  difference  is  like  the  difference 
between  things  less  and  more  general,  for  what  is 
of  a  prior  degree  is  less  general,  and  what  is  of  a 
posterior  one  is  more  general.  Such  degrees  of 
life  are  in  every  man  from  creation  ;  and  they  are 


THE   DIVINE   HUMAN  LIFE.  gj 

is  being  opened,  in  somf  .he  m.ddle  anH  °"""°'' 
bemg  opened  become  after  death  angels   of  ,h. 

or^:  i^id^:;:--:!  Te^;- irttsT'^ 

whom  the  degree  nevt   tn   ,hl      .  *°^^  '" 

opened  becom^l  after  death  an^el"  oTthe  "   "''"' 
heaven.    These  degrees  are  0^"^  degr  et  o^fTan-i 
I.fe  but  they  are  degrees  of  his  wisdom  a„d"ove 
because  they  are  opened  according  to  th"  Tecet^don 
of  w,sdom  and  love,  thus  of  liff  from  the  Lord 
There  ,     ,„,h  degrees  of  life  also  in  a  1 'ht  of' 
gans  and  viscera  and  membprs  r.t  ,u     u  1 

by  influx  they  a^  as  o:^;^^!:^^  d'eg^e':'^'}  h"' 
in  the  brams.     The  skin«;    fh*>  ^       ^ferees  oi  nte 

bones,  make  their  Outmost' degr""'^"'  ^""^  "^= 

are?u:"d:gr:e":  in':f;rf '■".'"^"  "^""^  '"-« 

.he  Lord.  b^Tl^t^e  Lo^rd    he's:af:hfi°;:tr" 
man  they  are  recipients  of  Ufe      But  ^'   I        k" 

th^  1  ''^^^^^'  ^"a  on  contmuous  deirrees  «;^^ 
the  work  on  //eazm  and  Hell  n  ,,  ,,  ?«  f '  l 
20Q    21  r    n-    ixrK^,-^  ♦u  ^^'  ^■*'  30.  39.  2oS 

A  L         ;  ^}^'     ^'^  ^^^y  ^^^  "lore  fully  described 
A  knowledge  of  these  should  be  drawn  il       1 

work  for  use  in  what  follows  )     .eI  '^"' 

"•/     1--1  /J.,  n.  1125.) 


62 


GOD   AND   MAN. 


Because  God  is  life,  it  follows  that  He  is  un- 
created  He  is  uncreated  because  life  can  create 
but  cannot  be  created,  for  to  be  created  is  to  have 
existence  from  another,  and  if  life  had  existence 
from  another  there  would  be  another  bemg  even 
as  to  life,  and  that  life  would  be  life  m  itself.  If 
this  First  were  not  life  in  itself  it  would  be  either 
from  another  or  from  itself ;  and  you  cannot  say 
life  from  itself  because  from  itself  involves  com- 
ing  forth,  and  that  coming  forth  would  be  from  no- 
thing, and  from  nothing  nothing  can  come  forth. 

This  First,  which  has  being  in  itself  and  from 
which  all  things  have  been  created,  is  (iod  who  is 
called  Jehovah  because  He  is  Being  in  Himselt. 
This,  especially  if  it  is  illustrated  by  things  created, 
reason  can  see.  Now  as  there  can  be  no  Being 
unless  it  comes  forth,  so  being  and  coming  forth 
{esseetexistere  in  God  are  One;  for  when  there  is 
being  there  is  coming  forth,  and  when  there  is  com- 
ing forth  there  is  being.  This,  therefore,  is  the  life 
itself  which  is  God  and  which  is  Man.    [A.E.,  n.  1126.) 


ALL   THINGS   FROM   THAT   LIFE. 


63 


XIV. 

All  Things  from  that  Life. 

i.  r^T  ^^l  -^^^f  ^'  ^'^  ^'°"^  ^he  life  itself  which 
IS  God  and  is  Man.  can  be  made  clear  by  Teflf 

sp"ea  ^^o   h'  "^^^^'  "^^"'  ^"  ^^^^  ^^  -  --   n    e- 

-dtrs.  tnd  t":::y  vr  ^ "  ^^^  '-'^- 

•  «»iu  lu  respect  to  his  inmosts  •  anrl  o 
man  „.ho  in  the  world  has  been  merjy  c^rporlal 
and  consequently  stupid  in  respea  to  his  life  a^ 

tenal  body  as  a  man  in  the  spiritual  world     andt 
Ten  I'r    "  "^P"''^  '°  '''^  '""^  i"  the  wodd  has 

pears  as  a  man,  perfed  in  the  measure  nfu-   ^' 
ception  of  life  from  the  Lord    .^H  ^''  '■^■ 

the   third   degree   of   life   h^  '   1       ^  ""^^  '"  ^^^'^ 
who  in  respefl  to  hi     f  ^^\^^^^   opened,   thus 
in  respeei  to  his  life  m  the  world  has  been  a 


64 


GOD   AND    MAN. 


celestial   man,  when   after  death  he  becomes  an 
angel  appears  as  a  man  in  all  perfedion. 

^The   man    is    the   life   itself    that    is    m    him. 
whether  it  be  sensual  or   natural   or  rational   or 
spiritual,  or   celestial,  for  so  the  f  g^^^^  f  J^^^ 
are  called.     Man  in  whom  these  degrees  exist  i^ 
only  a  recipient.     As  it  is  in  the  least  types  so  it 
is  in  the  greatest.     The  whole  angelic  heaven  in 
every  complex  is  a  man.     Each  heaven  by  itself, 
the   first,  the    second,  and   the   third,  is   a   man. 
Each  society  in  the  heavens,  greater  or  less,  is  a 
man.     Even  the  church  on  the  earth  in  genera   is 
a  man  ;    likewise  ail  asemblages  that  are  called 
churches  are  by  themselves  men.     It  is  said  M. 
church,  but  it  is  meant  all  in  whom  the  church  is 
in  the  complex  ;  thus  does  the  church  on  the  earth 
appear  to  the  angels  of  heaven.     It  so  appears  be- 
cause the  life  that  is  from  the   Lord  is  a  man. 
Life  from  the  Lord  is  love  and  wisdom ;   conse- 
quently such   as  the  reception  of    love   and  wis- 
dom from   the   Lord  is   such  is  the   man.     This 
shows  in  the  first  place  that  all  things  have  been 
created  from  the  life  that  is  God  and  that  is  Man. 

''^"^Tharall  things  are  from  the  life  itself  which  is 
God,  and  which  is  wisdom  and  love,  can  also  be 
made  clear  bv  reference  to  things  created  when 
they  are  viewed  from  order.  For  it  is  from  order 
that  the  angelic  heavens,  consisting  of  thousands 
and  thousands  of  societies,  acl  as  one  through 
love  to  the  Lord  and  through  love  towards  the 
neighbor,  and  that  they  are  kept  in  order  through 


ALL   THINGS   FROM    THAT   LIFE. 


65 


Divine  truths  which  are  the  laws  of  order  Also 
1 1    s  from  order  that  the  hells  beneath  the  he^l! 

ho^slnds  or  '^'^  ^'^^  ''"^^  thousands  and 
means  of  T  H  ^''^"^^^'^^'  ^''^  ^ept  in  order  by 
means  of  judgments  and  punishments  so  that 
they  are  unable  to  do  the  least  harm  To  the 
heavens,  although  they  are  hatreds  and  insanit  es 

the  hefls  T  "''''  ^'^^  '^^"^^"  ^h^  heavens  and 
the  hells  there  is  an  equilibrium,  in  which  is  man 

T^y"  r'  '•  ^"^  ^"  "^^^h  he  is  led  to  helveTrf 
led  by  the  Lord,  and  to  hell  if  led  by  himself     fof 

hVdoe:f^o::if  ^^t  ^'^  "^^"  -^'^  ^^  "h--: 

he  does  from  freedom  according  to  reason. 

from  the  creation  of  the  world  have  poured  fnto 
he  spiritual  world  and  are  unceasingly  pouring  n 
like  streams  and  each  individual  has  a  difTeren" 
disposition  and  love  thev  ronlH  k,.  '''"^^^"t 
have   been  associated'   tl.^'t  'j  Z  ~ 

tJs  We  hadf  ""■'   "^"^  '''"  "-•  -d  -!    s 
I„H  .h        ^  ^■^"  ""''°'"  ''=«'f  and  love  itself 
and  thus  order  aself.     Thus  much  about  heaven  ' 
In  the  world  the  Divine  order  appears  in  the 
sun  moon,  stars,  and  planets.     The  sun  in  a  "pear! 

^efonT  rtht^iirthtr- '-'  ""-^  ^''''^= 

autumn,  and  .^^^'^^^t  1^  -^  \Z2^, 
which  are  morn.ng,  noon,  evening  and  night  •  and 
■t  vvfies  all  things  of  the  earth  according  t;,^he 

heat,  and  accordmg  to  reception  it  opens,  ar- 
ranges, and  prepares  bodies  and  matters,  which 


66 


GOD    AND    MAN. 


are  in  the  earth  and  upon  the  earth,  to  receive  in- 
flux from  the  spiritual  world.  Thus  in  the  spring 
time,  by  the  union  of  heat  and  light  at  that 
season  the  birds  of  heaven  and  the  animals  of 
earth  return  into  the  love  of  prolification,  and 
into  a  knowledge  of  all  things  pertaining  to  that 
love  ;  and  the  things  of  the  vegetable  kingdom 
return  into  the  efforts  and  adivitics  of  producing 
leaves,  flowers  and  fruits,  and  seeds  in  them  for 
perpetuating  their  kind  to  eternity,  and  for  multi- 

plying  it  to  infinity. 

It  is  also  from  order  that  the  earth  produces 
vegetables,  and  that  vegetables  nourish  animals, 
and  that  both  are  useful  to  man  for  food,  for  rai- 
ment, and  for  pleasure  ;  and  as  man  is  the  one  in 
whom  is  God.  so  all  things  thus  return  to  God 
from  whom  they  are.     All  this  makes  clear  that 
created  things  follow  in  such  order  that  one  is  for 
the  sake  of  another,  and  that  they  are  perpetual 
ends  which  are  uses,  and  that  the  ends  which  are 
uses  are   constantly  so  direded  as  to  return  to 
God  from  whom  they  are.     All   this  now  shows 
that  all  things  have  been  created  from  life  itself, 
which  is  wisdom  itself,  and  also  shows   that   the 
created  universe  is  full  of  God.    {A.E.,n.  1129) 


THAT  LIFE   KTF.RXAL,  INFINITE,  OMNIPOTENT.     67 


XV. 


That  Life  Eternal,  Infinite,  and  Omnipotent. 

As  God  is  uncreate  He  is  also  eternal ;  for  the 
life  itself  which  is  God  is  life  in  itself,  not  from 
itself,  nor  from  nothing  ;  thus  it  is  without  origin  ; 
and  what  is  without  origin  is  from  eternity  and 
is  eternal.    But  the  conception  of  any  thing  with- 
out origin  is  impossible  to  the  natural  man  ;  so, 
too,  is  the  conception  of  God  from  eternity ; '  but 
it  is  possible  to  the  spiritual  man.     The  thought 
of  the  natural  man  cannot  be  separated  and  ab- 
stra^ed  from  the  idea  of  time  ;  this  idea  clings  to 
him  from  nature,  in  which   he  is.     Nor  can  his 
thought  be  separated  and  abstra^ed  from  the  idea 
of  origin,  since  origin  means  to  him  a  beginning 
in   time.     The  appearance  in  the  sun's  progres- 
sion has  impressed  this  idea  on  the  natural  man. 
But  the  thought  of  the  spiritual  man  is  abstraded 
from  the  idea  of  time,  because  it  is  raised  above 
nature,  and  in  place  of  that  idea  there  is  the  idea 
of  state  of  life,  and  in  place  of  duration  of  time 
is  an  idea  of  the  state  of  thought  from  affedion, 
which  constitutes  life.     For  in  the  angelic  heaven 
the  sun  does  not  rise  or  set  or  make  years  and 
days,  as  the  sun  in  the  world  does  ;   and  for  this 
reason  the  angels  of  heaven,  because  they  are  in 


68 


GOD   AND    MAN. 


spiritual  ideas,  think  apart  from  time;  conse- 
quently their  idea  of  God  from  eternity  does  not 
take  anything  from  origin,  that  is,  from  a  begin- 
ning, but  from  state  that  it  is  eternal,  and  that 
every  thing  therefore  that  is  God  and  that  gees 
forth  from  God  is  eternal,  in  other  words,  is 
Divine  in  itself.  That  this  is  so  I  have  been  per- 
mitted to  perceive  by  an  elevation  above  natural 
thought  into  spiritual  thought. 

From  all  this  it  is  clear  that  God,  who  is  un- 
create,  is  also  eternal,  also  that  it  is  impossible 
to  think  that  nature  is  from  eternity,  or  that  it  is 
from  itself  in  time  ;  but  it  is  possible  to  think 
that  God  is  from  eternity,  and  that  both  nature 
and  time  are  from  God.     A.E.,  n.  1130 

As  God  is  eternal  He  is  also  infinite,  and  as 
there  is  a  natural  idea  and  a  spiritual  idea  of  the 
eternal,  so  there  is  of  the  infinite.  The  natural 
idea  of  the  eternal  is  from  time,  but  the  spiritual 
idea  of  it  is  not  from  time.  And  the  natural  idea 
of  the  infinite  is  from  space,  but  the  spiritual  idea 
of  it  is  not  from  space.  For  as  life  is  not  nature, 
so  the  two  properties  of  nature,  which  are  time 
and  space,  are  not  properties  of  life,  for  they  were 
created  with  nature  by  the  life  which  is  God. 

The  natural  idea  of  the  infinite  God,  which  is 
from  space,  is  that  He  fills  the  universe  from  end 
to  end  ;  but  from  this  idea  of  the  infinite  there 
springs  the  thought  that  the  inmost  of  nature  is 
God,  and  thus  that  He  is  something  extended,  and 
yet  every  thing  extended  belongs  to  matter. 

As,  therefore,  the  natural  idea  has  nothing  in 


THAT  LIFE  ETERNAL.  LVFINITE,  OMNIPOTENT.     69 

common  With  the  idea  of  life,  of  wisdom  and  of 

ove.  which  IS  God.  so  the  infinite  must  be  vTewed 

from  the  spiritual  idea,  in  which  there  is  nothTng 

h  noT-  ^"^"^^^^"^  -'  ^Pace,  because  there  is  in 

Idea     h"^n    •"'?'"•     ^^^"^^'"^  '^  ^he  spiritual 
Idea  the  Divine  love  is  infinite  and  the   Divine 

The  DWi  :  '"'r^'  ^"'  ^^"^^  ^^^  Divine  love  and 
^e  Divine  wisdom  are  the  life  which  is  God  the 

that  God  "  f  •"  "'"^^  '  ''^^  "^-h  ^t  follows 
mat  Ood  IS  infinite. 

from^thf  ^  -^i"'"'  "'?''°"'  '"  '■""""«  <^^"  be  seen 
heiven  aT'^k"""  °'  '"'  ""^^'^  °'  '"e  third 
fh?v  n  "I"^  ^''"'   ="'   ^"'"s  i"  wisdom. 

wZn'^T"'  •"'"'  ""  ^"'"Parison  is  possible  be: 
tween  ,he.r  wisdom  and  the  Lords  Divine  wis- 

fhe  inr?""  "°  '^"■"P^rison  is  possible  between 
thl,  .h  r  ^1''  ""^  '^""^-  Moreover,  tliey  say 
that  he  first  degree  of  wisdom,  is  to  see  and  ac- 
kno^Wedge  that  this  is  so.  The  same  is  true  of 
the  Dwme  love.  Furthermore,  angels  like  men 
are  recipient  forms  of  life,  thus  they  are  recipients 

iLZ  ,"""  '"^'^  ''°'"  '"«  Lord ;    and   these 

orms  are  from  substances  that  are  without  life 

He^H  '"'^'"  ''■^'"^^'^^s  d^ad,  and  between  what  is 
de^ad  and  what  is  living  no  comparison  is  possi- 

But  how  that  finite  receives  the  infinite  can  be 

world  T.^"'u  "■*^'"  ^"•^  "^^  °'  '"^  =""  °f  the 
world.     The  light  itself  and  the  heat  itself  from 

materinr.T  ""'  "'^'""^''  ^"'^  ^^  *ey  affea 
Tnd  th.  h  .  rT'-  ""^  "S""  "^y  '"odifyingthem. 
and  the  heat  by  changing  their  states.    The  Lord  s 


70 


GOD   AND    MAN. 


Divine  wisdom  is  likewise  light,  and  the  Lord's 
Divine  love  is  heat,  but  they  are  spiritual  heat 
and  light,  because  they  go  forth  from  the  Lord  as 
a  sun,  which  is  Divine  love  united  to  Divine  wis- 
dom, while  the  light  and  heat  from  the  sun  of 
the  world  are  natural,  because  that  sun  is  fire  and 
not  love.     .I.E..  n.  11 31. 

Since  God  is  infinite  He  is  also  omnipotent, 
for  omnipotence  is  infinite  power.  God's  omni- 
potence shines  forth  from  the  universe,  which  is 
the  visible  heaven  and  the  habitable  globe  ;  these, 
with  all  things  that  are  in  the  visible  heavens  and 
on  the  habitable  globe,  are  the  great  works  of  an 
omnipotent  Creator.  The  creation  of  these  and 
their  maintenance  testify  that  they  are  from 
Divine  omnipotence,  while  their  order  and  mutual 
regard  to  ends  from  first  to  last  testify  that  they 
are  from  Divine  wisdom. 

God's  omnipotence  shines  forth  also  from  the 
heaven  that  is  above  or  within  our  visible  heaven, 
and  from  the  globe  there  that  is  inhabited  by 
angels,  as  ours  is  by  men.  There  are  wonderful 
testimonies  there  to  the  Divine  omnipotence  ; 
and  as  these  have  been  seen  by  me  and  revealed 
to  me,  I  am  permitted  to  speak  of  them.  There 
all  men  are  that  have  died  from  the  first  creation 
of  the  world  ;  and  these  after  death  continue  to 
be  men  in  form,  but  are  spirits  in  essence.  Spirits 
are  affe<5lions  that  are  from  love,  and  thus  also 
thoughts.  The  spirits  of  heaven  are  affedions  of 
the  love  of  good,  and  the  spirits  of  hell  affe(flions 
of   the  love  of  evil.     Good  affecflions,  which  are 


THAT  LIFE  ETERNAL,  INFINITE.  OMNIPOTENT.     71 

angels,  dwell  on  a  globe  that   is   called  heaven 
and  evil  affedions,  which  are  spirits  of  hell  dwell 
at   a   great   depth   beneath    them.     The  globe   is 
one,  but  is  divided  into  expanses  as  it  were,  one 
below  another.     There  are  six  expanses  ;   in  the 
highest  the  angels  of  the  third  heaven  dwell,  and 
beneath  them  the  angels  of   the  second  heaven 
and  beneath  these  the  angels  of  the  first  heaven' 
below  these  dwell  the  spirits  of  the  first  hell   be- 
neath these  the  spirits  of  the  second  hell,  and  beneath 
these  the  spirits  of  the  third  hell.     All  things  are 
arranged   in  such  order  that   the   evil  affccflions 
which  are  spirits  of  hell,  are  held  in  bonds  bv  the 
good  affedions,  which  are  angels  of  heaven  ;'  the 
spirits  of   the  lowest  hell  by  the  angels  of  the 
highest  heaven,  the  spirits  of  the  middle  hell  by 
the  angels  of   the  middle  heaven,  and  the  spirits 
of  the  first  hell  by  the  angels  of  the  first  heTv";;^ 
By   such   opposition    the    affections    are   held   in 
equilibrium  as  in  the  scales  of  a  balance 

viH.^H"'\^'''''^"'  ^"^   ^"""  ^'^  innumerable,  di- 
ided  into  assemblies  and  societies  according  to 
the  genera  and  species  of  all  affections  ;  and  the  e 
affectH.ns   in   their  order  and   connection   are   in 
accord  with  the  nearer  and  more  remote  affinities 
of  the  societies.    This  is  true  both  of  the  heavens 
and  of  the  hells.     This  order  and  this  connection 
of  affections  are  known  to  the   Lord  alone,  and 
the    arrangement  of    the    different    affections    as 
many  as  there  have  been  men  from  the  first  c;ea 

w'dom     "h"   ^\^--^^-'  -  -  -rk  of    infi'n  te" 
wisdom,  and  at  the  same  time  of  infinite  power. 


72 


GOD   AND    MA.V. 


That  the  Divine  power  is  infinite,  or  that  it  is 
omnipotence,  is  there  clearly  evident  from  the  fact 
that  neither  the  angels  of  heaven  nor  the  devils 
of  hell  have  any  power  whatever  from  them- 
selves. If  they  had  any  at  all  heaven  would  fall 
to  pieces,  hell  would  become  a  chaos,  and  with 
these  every  man  would  perish.     A.JC ,  n.  1133 

God  has  all  power,  and  men  and  angels  have 
none  at  all,  because  God  alone  is  life,  and  men 
and  angels  are  only  recipients  of  life,  and  life  is 
that  which  adls,  and  the  recipient  of  life  that 
which  is  adled  upon.  Every  one  can  see  that  a 
recipient  of  life  cannot  act  at  all  from  itself,  and 
that  its  acflion  must  be  from  the  life  that  is  God. 
Nevertheless,  it  can  acl  as  if  from  itself,  for  this 
can  be  granted  to  it ;  that  it  has  been  granted  to 
it  has  been  said  above. 

If  man  does  not  live  from  himself  it  follows 
that  he  does  not  think  and  will  from  himself, 
neither  does  he  speak  and  acl  from  himself,  but 
from  God  who  alone  is  life.  That  this  is  so  does 
not  seem  to  be  true,  for  man  has  no  other  feeling 
than  that  these  things  are  in  himself,  and  thus 
are  done  by  himself  ;  and  yet  when  he  speaks 
from  faith  he  confesses  that  every  thing  good 
and  true  is  from  God,  and  that  every  thing  evil 
and  false  is  from  the  devil,  although  every  thing 
that  a  man  thinks,  wills,  speaks  or  a(5ls,  has  refer- 
ence to  what  is  good  and  true  or  to  what  is  evil 
and  false.  For  this  reason  when  a  man  does 
good  he  says  within  himself,  or  his  teacher  says 
to  him,  that  he  was  led  by  God,  and  when  he  does 


THAT  LIFE  ETERNAL,  INFLMTE,  OMNIPOTENT.     73 

evil  that  he  was  led  by  the  devil.  Also  every 
man  who  preaches  prays  that  his  thought  his 
discourse,  and  his  tongue,  may  be  led  by  the 
spirit  of  God.  and  sometimes  he  adds  after  preach- 
ing that  he  has  spoken  from  the  spirit ;  and  some 
even  have  a  perception  of  this  in  themselves 
iuZZu^  ^an  myself  testify  before  the  world 
that  all  things  of  my  thought  and  will  have  en- 
tered    by  influx,  the    goods    and   truths  through 

from   hell.     It  has  been  granted  me  for  a  long 

time  to  perceive  this.  ^ 

Angels  of    the   higher  heavens  have  a  clear 

sensation  that  this  is  so ;   and  the  wisest  of  them 

do  not   wish  to  think  and  will  even  as  if   from 

themselves.     On  the  other   hand,  infernal   genii 

and  spirits  utterly  deny  this,  and  are  angry  when 

old   that  It  IS  so.     Yet  to  many  the   truth   has 

wTrH  "II  '''^'^'"'  ^y  ^^^^"^  P^°°^'  but  after- 
ward, they  were  indignant.  Since,  however,  this 
seems  to  many  to  be  a  contradidion  it  is  im- 
portant  that  it  should  be  seen  from  some  idea  of 
the  understanding  how  this  takes  place,  that  it 
may  be  acknowledged  that  it  does  take  pbce 

rhe  essence  of  the  matter  is  as  follows 
From  the  Lord's  Divine  love,  which  appears  in 
the  angelic  heaven  as  a  sun,  light  goes  J^rth  anS 
heat  goes  forth.  This  light  is  the  life  of  His 
D.vme  wisdom,  and  this  heat  is  the  life  of  His 
Divine  love.  This  spiritual  heat  which  is  love 
and  this  spiritual  light  which  is  wisdom  flow  into 
subjects  that  are  recipient  of  life,  as  natural  hel^ 


^^iMiimtm 


74 


GOD   AND   MAN. 


and  natural  light  from  the  sun  of  the  world  flow 
into  subjects  net  recipient  of  life.  And  although 
light  simply  modifies  the  substances  into  which 
it  flows,  and  heat  simply  changes  their  state,  yet 
it  follows  that  if  these  were  living  subjects,  they 
would  feel  these  changes  in  themselves,  and 
would  suppose  them  to  be  from  themselves ;  and 
yet  they  recede  with  the  sun  and  return  with  the 
sun. 

It  is  because  the  life  of  the  Lord's  Divine  wis- 
dom is  light  that  the  Lord  in  many  passages  of 
the  Word  is  called  light,  and  it  is  said  in  John  ; 

"The  Word  was  with  God,  and  the;  Word  was  God.   .  . 
In  Him  was  hfe,  and  the  life  was  the  Ughtot  men" 

(i.  1-4). 

From  all  this  it  is  now  clear  that  God  has  in- 
finite power  because  He  is  the  all  in  all.  But 
how  an  evil  person  can  think,  will,  speak  and  do 
evil  when  God  alone  is  life,  will  be  told  in  what 
follows.    {A.E.,  n.  1134.) 


'  TiMlllllllUftln'l  "  '^ 


PART  SECOND 


The  Divine  Providence 


— — "1  lumtimn 


The  Divine  Providence. 


I. 


The  Laws  of  Divine  Providence. 

As  the  Divine  omnipotence  is  snrh  th.. 
IS  not  able  to  think  and  xviVl        a    ?        ^^  ""^^ 

man  is  not  saved      Rnr   u^      u  ^  <-^ery 

less  it  I       v'u"  ""'"'^'  "''"''  ^='""«  knowun. 
less  ,t  ,s  enlighiened.     And  as  man  is  ignorant 

is  fh"    ^°".^^''"-">-  '--  conciusfonsre 
-  pccung  the  Divme  providence  from  what  han 

Tnd  th".,      r^"'  ^'  "■^'•^•'  '-  f""=  into  fa,  aZ' 
and  thus  ,nto  errors,  from  which  it  is  difBcuk   or 

aneto'r;;\.i-rtt:'SKinrpt:.T"- 

opera.es   in  every  particular  thinyTer'tll^Sn'r" 


78 


IlIK    DIVINE   PROVIDENCK. 


man.  even  in  the  most  minute  particulars,  f(  r  his 
eternal  salvation  ;    for  the  salvation  o    man  was 
the  end  of  the  creation  of  heaven  and  of  earth 
This  end  was  that  out  of  the  human  race  a  heaven 
S    be  formed,  in  which  God  could  dwe  1    as  m 
H  f  own  very  home,  consequently  the  salvation 
of    man  is  the  all    in  all  of    the   Divme   prov.d- 
ence.     But   the    Divine   provi<ience    proceeds   so 
secretly  that  man  can  see  scarcely  a  trace  of  it 
and  yet  it  is  active  in  the  most  minute  particula  s 
relating  to  him  from   infancy  to  old  age  in  the 
world,  and   afterwards   to  eternity,  and  in  each 
one  of  these  it  is  the  eternal  that  is  regarded. 

As  the  Divine  wisdom  is  in  itself  nothing  but 
an  end,  so  providence  acts  from  an  end.  in  an  end 
and  to  an  end.     The  end  is  that  man  may  become 
wisdom  and  may  become  love,  and  thus  a  dwell- 
ing place  and  an  image  of  the  Divine  life      But 
^nce  the  natural  mind,  unless  it  is  enlightened, 
te  unable  to  comprehend  why  the  Divine  provid- 
ence  which  works  solely  for  man's  salvation,  and 
works  in  the  most  minute  things  of  the  progress 
of  man's  life,  does  not  lead  all  to  heaven,  when  it 
desires  from  love  to  so  lead  them   and  is  omni- 
potent, so  in  what  now  follows  the   aws  of  order 
which  are  laws  of  the  Divine  providence,  shall  be 
disclosed;   by  which,  I  hope,  the  mind  not  be^^^^^^ 
enlightened  may  be  withdrawn   from  fallacies,  if 
it  is  willing  to  be  withdrawn.     A.E.,  n  1135. 

The  laws  of  order  which  are  called  the  laws  of 
Divine  providence  are  the  following : 


I 


THE   LAWS   OF    DIVINE   PROVIDENCE.  79 

(i.)   A/an^o^s  not  feel  and  perceive  and  thus 
know  otherivise   than  that  life   is  in 
htm,  that  is,  that  he  thinks  and  wills 
from    himself   and   thus   speaks   and 
a<fls  from   himself;    and  yet  he   may 
acknowledge  and  believe  that  the  truths 
thai  he  thinks  and  speaks  and  the  goods 
that  he  wills  and  does  are  from  Gcd 
l\\\    Af    ^^"l"' ""' 'f  ^l^'y -""^'^^  from  himself       * 
(11.)   Man  does  what  he  does  from  freedom  accord- 
ing to  reason  and  yet  he  may  acknow- 
ledge and  believe  that  the  very  freedom 
that  he  has  is  from  God;  and  the  same 
ts  true  of  his  very  reason,  viewed  in 

t\\\  \    T    !l    f  '^\''^  ''  """'"^  rationality. 
(111.)    To  think  and  speak  truth  and  to  will  and 

do  good  from  freedom  according  to  rea- 
son  IS  not  from  oneself  but  from  God; 
and  to  think  and  to  speak  falsity  and  to 
will  and  do  evil  from  freedom  is  not 
from  oneself  but  from  hell;    and  yet 
in  such  a  way  that  while  the  falsity 
and  evil  are  from  hell,  the  freedom  ii 
self  regarded  in  itself  and  the  ability 
Itself  to  think,  will,  speak,  and  do,  re~ 
garded  in  Itself  are  from  God 
(iv.)  Man's  understanding  and  luill  must  not  be 
compelled  by  another  in  the  least  since 
all  compulsion  by  another  takes  'away 
freedom,  but  man  himself  should  com- 
pel himself,  for  to  compel  oneself  is  to 
acl  from  freedom. 
(V.)   From   sense  and  perception  man  does   not 
know  in  himself  how  good  and  truth 
Jtow  in  from  God  and  how  evil  and 
falsity  flow  in  from   hell;     nor  does 


fiiiiiiliiliiiiiilrtliiaiiilTniiflftitir 


^Yr.?!^  ^■^^'^^F^ 


"^^^^^i^fi^^^f^ 


80  THE    DIVINE    PUOVinENCE. 

Ae  Si-e  hoiv  Divide  providence  operates 
in  favor  of  good  against  evil ;   if   he 
did  he  could   not   ad   from   freedom 
according  to  reason  as  if  from   him- 
self;    it  is  sufficient  for  him  to  know 
and  acknowledge  this  from   the  IVord 
and  from  the  doctrine  of  the  church. 
(vi.)    Man    is    reformed  not  by  external    means 
but    by  internal  means ;    by   external 
mean's  miracles  and  visions,  also  fears 
and  punishments  are  meant ;    by  in- 
ternal means  truths  and  goods    from 
the  Word  and  from   the   doctrine  of 
the  church   and  looking   to  the   Lord 
are   meant,  for  these   means   enter  by 
an  irJernal  way,  and  remove  the  evils 
and  falsities  that  have  their  seat  with- 
in, vohile  external  means  enter  by  an  ex- 
ternal ivay  and  do  not  remove  evils  and 
falsities,  but  shut  them  in.     Neverthe- 
less, man  may  be  further  reformed  by 
external  means  when  he  has  previously 
been  reformed  by  internal  means  ;  but  a 
man  that  has  not  been  reformed  is  merely 
withheld  by  external  means,  which  arc 
fears  and' punishments,  from  speaking 
and  doing  the  evils  and  falsities  that  he 
thinks  and  that  he  wills. 
(vii.)   Man  is  let  into  truths  of  faith  and  goods  of 
love  by  Cod  only  so  far  as  he  can  be  kept 
in  them  until  the  end  of  life;  for  it  is 
better  that  he  should  continue  to  be  evil 
than  that  he  should  be  good  and  after- 
wards evil  for  he  thus  becomes  profane. 
This  is  the  chief  reason  why  evil  is 
permitted. 


THE   LAWS   OF   DIVINE    PROVIDENCE.  8 1 

(viii.)    God  is  unceasingly  withdrawing  man  from 
evils  .so  far  as  man  is  willing  from  free, 
domto  be  withdrawn.     So  far  as  man 
can  be  withdrawn  from  evil,  God  leads 
/iim  to  good  and  thus  to  heaven.     But 
so  far  as  man  cannot   be   -withdrawn 
from  evils  God  cannot  lead  him  to^ood 
and  thus  to  heaven  y  for  so  far  as  man 
has  been  'withdrawn  from  evils,  so  far 
he  Jrom  God  does  good  that  is  in  itself 
good,  but  so  far  as  he  has  not  been  with- 
drawn from  evils  so  far  he  from  him- 

r    \    r^  ^   J-'      ''  ^"""^  ^^""^  ''"''  ^^'^  within  it 
Ux.;    ijod  does  not  teach  man  truths  either  from 

Him  self  or  through  angels  immediately; 
but  I/e  teaches  by  means  of  the  Word 
preaching,    reading,  and    conversation 
and  communication    with  others,  and 
thus   by  thought    with    himself   about 
these  things.     Man  is  then  enlightened 
in  the  measure  of  his  affeclion  for  truth 
from  use.    Otherwise  man  could  not  acfi 
as  if  from  himself. 
(X.)    When  man  is  led  astray  by  eminence  and 
riches  he  hasted  himself  to  them  by  hi, 
ozvn  prudence,  for  by  Divine  provid- 
ence man  is  Ld  only  to  such  things  as 
do  not  lead  astray  and  as  are  serviceable 
to  eternal  life  ,-  for  all  thin<;s   of  the 
Divine  providence    with  man  look  to 
-^vhat  IS  eternal,  since  the  life  which  is 
God,  from  which  man  is  man,  is  eternal 
ttfe.    {A.E.,  n.  1136.) 


iftiltTilifailfiifmii  iffJirrtrriTui 


82 


THE   DIVINE   PROVIDENCE. 


THE   FIRST   AND   SECOND   LAWS. 


83 


II. 


THE     FIRST    AND    SECOND     LAWS    OF    DiVINE    PRO- 
VIDENCE. 

From  all  this  it  is  evident  that  the  Lord  can 
lead  man  to  heaven  only  by  means  of  these  laws, 
although  He  has  Divine  love  from  which  He  wills 
and  Divine   wisdom    from  which    He   knows   all 
things    and  Divine  power,  which  is  omnipotence, 
from  which  He  can  do  what  He  wills.     For  these 
laws  that  are  called  laws  of  providence  are  laws 
of  order  respecting  reformation  and  regeneration, 
thus  respecting  the  salvation  of  man  ;  and  against 
these  the    Lord  cannot  acl,  since   to   acl  against 
them  would  be  to  ad  against  His  own  wisdom 
and  against  His  own  love,  thus  against  Himself. 
In  respect  to  the  first  law,  which  is,  That  from  sense 
and  perception  man  cannot  know  ot/ierzLnse  than  that 
life  is  in  him  ;   and  yet  he  should  acknowledge  that 
the  goods  and  truths  which  belong  to  love  and  faith 
which  he  thinks,  wills,  speaks,  and  a(fls,  are  not  from 
him  but  are  from  the  Lord.     This  law  presupposes 
the  second,  namely.    That  man   has  freedom,  and 
that  this  freedom  also  appears  to  be  his,  and  yet  he 
should  acknowledge  that  it  is  not  his,  but  is  the  Lord's 
in  him. 


This  law  follows  from  the  former  because  free 

caTnoT'f  :f  °":  "'"'  '''^'  '"'  "'■"^°'"  f-^d°"  -an 
<annot  feel  and  perce.ve  that  life  is  as  if  it  were 

■n  h.m  ;  u  .s  from  freedom  that  he  feels  th  s  and 
pcrce.v-es  this,  for  it  is  from  freedom  hat  every 
tl.ng  that  the  life  effects  appears  to  man  t^  ZZ 
own  lf,ro^r,u„,  „  ,„„„„,  for  freedom  is  the  power  to 
thmk,  will,  speak,  and  do  from  one's  self  here  Is 
■  from  oneself.  And  ii  especially  belongs  o, he 
«.  .  for  a  man  says.  I  have  power  to  do  what  I 
w,ll  and  I  win  that  which  I  have  power  to  I  in 
other  words,  I  am  in  freedom. 

Again,  who  cannot  think  from  freedom  that  one 
h,ng  .s  good  and  another  evil,  or  that  one  thing 
s  true  and  another  false?  Therefore  freedom 
was  g,ven  ,0  man  together  with  his  life  nor  is  h 
ever  taken  away  from  him  ;  for  so  far  as  t  is  aken 
away  or  lessened  so  far  man  feels  and  pe  ceive" 
that  he  does  not  live,  but  that  another  lives  in  Wm 
and  so  far  the  delight  of  all  things  of  his  life  Ts 

ThrfLm'"""^''  'r  "^  ''"°"'-  =>  «'-e 
no  o,v.  u^^"'^  ^"'^  P^i-t^cption  man  knows 

■s  as  if  i  T'    :"  ""'  "'^  '^  '"  l^™-  'hus  tha"1 
s  as  .f  ,t  were  h,s  own,  has  need  of  no  other  proof 
than  e.xper,ence  itself.     Who  has  any  other  S 
wh/"T''K"",  "'^"  "^•'"   •>■=   ""-nks  from  h,m  ",! 
ne  tt  Ills    that  he  speaks  and  acts  from  himself  when 
he  speaks  and  acts  ?    Rut  it  is  from  a  law  of  D^te 
F.rov,dence  that  man  should  know  no  olrwisT 
stnce  without  such  a  feeling  and  such  a  percep,  on 
he  cannot  receive  anything  to  himself,  appropr  Lte 


M   f 


84 


THE   DIVINE   PROVIDENCE. 


anything  to  himself,  or  bring  forth  anything  from 
himself ;   thus  he  would  be  neither  a  recipient  of 
life  from  the  Lord  nor  an  agent  of  life  from  the 
Lord,  but  would  be  like  an  automaton,  or  like  an 
upright  image,  without  understanding  or  will,  with 
the  hands  hanging  down,  awaiting  influx  that  could 
not  be  given.     For  if  life  were  not  received  and 
not  appropriated  as  if  by  man   it   would  not   be 
retained,  but  would  flow  through,  and   in  conse- 
quence man  from  being  alive  would  become  like 
one  dead,  and  from  being  a  rational  soul  would 
become  not  rational,  thus  either  a  brute  or  a  stock  ; 
for  he  would  have  no  delight  of  life,  that  is,  the  de- 
light that  every  one  has  from  receiving  as  if  by 
himself,  from    appropriating    and   from   bringing 
forth  as  if  by  himself,  since  delight  and  life  act  as 
one,  and  when  you  take  away  all  the  delight  of  life 
you  grow  cold  and  die. 

If  it  were  not  according  to  a  law  of  Divine  pro- 
vidence that  man  should  feel  and  perceive  as  if  life 
and  every  thing  pertaining  to  it  were  in  him,  and 
should  be  left  to  acknowledge  simply  that  good 
and  truth  are  not  from  him  but  are  from  the  Lord, 
nothing  could  be  imputed  to  man,  neither  good  nor 
truth,  and  thus  neither  love  nor  faith ;  and  if  nothing 
could  be  imputed  the  Lord  would  not  have  com- 
manded in  the  Word  that  man  must  do  good  and 
shun  evil,  and  if  he  did  good  heaven  would  be  his 
inheritance,  and  if  he  did  evil  hell  would  be  his 
portion ;  nor  even  would  there  be  any  heaven  or 
hell,  for  without  that  perception  man  would  not  be 
a  man,  thus  would  not  be  a  dwelling  place  of  the 


THE   FIRST  AND   SECOND   LAW.S. 


8S 


Lord.  For  the  Lord  wills  to  be  loved  by  man  as 
If  by  h,m;  thus  it  is  that  the  Lord  dwells  with 
man  m  what  ,s  His  own,  and  this  he  has  given  him 
in  order  that  He  may  be  loved  reciprocally;  fo^ 
the  Divme  love  consists  in  this,  that  it  wishes  what 
IS  Its  own  to  be  man's,  and  this  could  not  be  unless 
man  felt  and  perceived  what  is  from  the  Lord  to 
be  as  if  It  were  his  own. 

If  it  were  not  according  to  a  Divine  law  that 
man  cannot  from  sense  and  perception  know  other- 
wise  than  that  life  is  in  him.  no  end  for  the  sake  of 
which  man  could  act  would  be  possible  ;  this  is 
possible  to  man  because  the  end  from  which  he 

acts  T.T  i'°  "^^  '"  ''"^-     '^^'  ^"^  '^^^  -hich  he 
acts  IS  his  love,  which  is  his  life,  and  the  end  for 

the  sake  of  which  he  acts  is  the  delight  of  his  love 

or  hfe    and  the  effect  in  which  the  end  presents 

tself  ,s  use.     The  end  for  the  sake  of  which  he 

acts,  which  IS  the  delight  of  his  life's  love  is  felt 

and  perceived  in  man.  because  the  end  from  which 

he  acts  enables  him  to  feel  and  perceive  it  ;   and 

that  end  IS,  as  has  been  said,  the  love  which  is  life. 

But  to  the  man  who  acknowledges  that  all  things 

o    his  life  are  rom  the  Lord,  the  Lord  gives  (so  far 

as  the  man  acknowledges  this  and  performs  uses) 

the  delight  and  blessedness  of   His  love      Thus 

when  man  by  acknowledgment  and  by  faith  from 

ove,  as  If  from  himself,  ascribes  to  the  Lord  all 

things  of  his  life,  the  Lord  in  turn  ascribes  to  man 

the  good  of   His  life,  which  carries  with  it  every 

happiness  and  every  blessedness,  and  also  enables 

him  to  feel  and  perceive  interiorly  and  exquisitely 


86 


THE   DIVINE   PROVIDENCE. 


this  good  to  be  in  himself  as  if  it  were  his  own, 
and  the  more  exquisitely  in  proportion  as  man 
from  the  heart  wills  that  which  he  acknowledges 
by  faith.  The  perception  is  then  reciprocal,  for 
the  perception  that  He  is  in  man  and  man  is  in 
Him  is  grateful  to  the  Lord,  and  the  perception 
that  he  is  in  the  Lord  and  the  Lord  in  him  is 
gratifying  to  man.  Such  is  the  union  of  the  Lord 
with  man  and  of  man  with  the  Lord  by  means  of 
love.    .1  /•:.,  n  113S ) 

Man  has  a  feeling  and  perception  that  life  is  in 
him,  because  the  life  of  the  Lord  is  in  him  as  the 
light  and  heat  of  the  sun  are  in  a  subjecfk.  This 
light  and  heat  belong  not  to  the  subject  but  to  the 
sun  in  the  subject,  for  they  withdraw  with  the  sun  ; 
but  when  they  are  in  the  subject  they  in  appear- 
ance wholly  belong  to  it ;  from  light  the  subject 
has  color  as  if  it  were  in  it,  and  from  heat  it  has 
vegetative  life  as  if  it  were  in  it.  Rut  this  is  much 
more  true  of  the  light  and  heat  from  the  sun  of 
the  spiritual  world,  which  is  the  Lord,  whose  light 
is  the  light  of  life  and  whose  heat  is  the  heat  of 
life,  for  the  sun  from  which  these  go  forth  is  the 
Lord's  Divine  love,  while  man  is  the  recipient 
subject.  This  light  and  heat  never  withdraw  from 
the  recipient,  which  is  man,  and  when  they  are  in 
man  they  are  in  appearance  wholly  his  own. 
From  the  light  he  has  the  ability  to  understand, 
and  from  the  heat  the  ability  to  will. 

From  this  that  the  light  and  heat,  although 
they  are  not  his  own,  are  seemingly  wholly  in  the 
recipient,  and  from  this  that  they  never  withdraw, 


THE   FIRST   AND   SECOND    LAWS. 


87 


also  from  this  that  they  affect  his  inmosts,  which 

are  remote   from  the  sight  of  his  understanding 

and  from  the  feeling  of  his  will,  there  must  needs 

be  the  appearance  that   thev  are   innate,  that  is 

they  seem  to  be  in  him,  and  thus  what  they  effect 

seems  to  be  from  him.     From  this  it  is  that  man 

does  not  know  otherwise  than  that  he  thinks  from 

himself  and  that  he  wills  from  himself ;   and  yet 

he  does  not  in  the  least  do  this  from  himself,  for 

It  IS  impossible   for  this  light  and  heat  to  be  so 

united  to  the  recipient  as  to  be  his  own,  precisely 

as  It  IS  impossible  for  the  light  of  the  sun  to  be 

united  to  an  earthly  subject  and  become  material 

as  the  subject  is.     The  same  is  true  of  heat.     But 

the  light  of  life  and  the  heat  of  life  move  and  fill 

their  recipient  in  the  exact  measure  of  the  quality 

of   his  acknowledgment  that  they  are  not  his  but 

are  the  Lord's  ;    and  the  quality  of  acknowledg- 

ment  is  in  exact  accord  with  the  quality  of  love 

m    doing   the    commandments,    which    are    uses, 
(.-i.z:.,  n.  1139.J 


88 


THE   DIVINE   PROVIDENCE. 


III. 


The  Third  Law  of  Divine  Providence. 


The  third  law  of  Divine  providence  is,  That 
to  think  and  speak  truth  and  to  will  and  do  good 
from  frccdotn  according  to  reason  is  not  from  man 
but  from  the  Lord ;  and  that  to  think  and  speak 
falsity  and  to  will  and  do  evil  from  freedom  is  not 
from  man  but  from  hell,  and  yet  in  such  a  way  that 
while  the  evil  and  falsity  are  from  hell,  the  freedom 
itself  regarded  in  itself,  and  the  ability  itself  to 
think,  will,  speak,  and  do,  regarded  in  itself,  are 
from  the  Lord. 

That  every  good  that  is  good  in  itself  and 
every  truth  that  is  truth  in  itself  is  from  the  Lord 
and  not  from  man,  can  be  comprehended  by  the 
understanding  from  this,  that  the  light  that  goes 
forth  from  the  Lord  as  a  sun  is  the  Divine  truth 
of  His  Divine  wisdom,  and  that  the  heat  that 
goes  forth  from  the  Lord  as  a  sun  is  the  Divine 
good  of  His  Divine  love  ;  and  as  man  is  a  recipi- 
ent of  these  it  follows,  that  every  good  which  is 
from  love  and  every  truth  which  is  from  wisdom 
is  from  the  Lord  and  not  from  man.  But  that 
every  evil  and  every  falsity  is  from  hell  and  not 


THE   third   law. 


89 


from  man  has  not  been  made  a  matter  of  faith  as 
the  facl  that  good  and  truth  are  not  from  man  has 
because  heretofore  this  has  not  been  perceived' 
But  that  evil  and  falsity  are  from  man  is  an  ao^ 
pearance,  and  if  believed  is  a  fallacv.  cannot  be 
comprehended  until  it  is  known  what  hell  is  and 
how  hell  with  evil  and  falsitv  can  flow  in  on  the 
one  side  as  the  Lord  with  good  and  truth  flows  in 
on  the  other.     Therefore  it  shall  be  told  in  the 
first   place  of    whom  hell  consists,  what   hell  is 
whence  it  is,  and  how  it  flows  in  and  acls  a-ainst 
good,  and  thus  how  man  who  is  in   the  midst  is 
aaed  upon  on  either  side  as   a   mere  recipient 

'A.J:..,  n.  1 141/  ^  ' 

Hell  consists  of   spirits  who  when  thev  were 
men  in  the  world  denied  God,  acknowledged  na- 
ture, lived  contrary  to  Divine   order,  loved  evils 
and  falsities,  although   for  appearance   sake  this 
was   not  done   openly ;    consequentlv  they  were 
either   insane   in   respect   to   truths, 'or   despised 
truths,  or  denied  them  in  heart  if    not  with    the 
lips.     Of  all  such  from  the  creation  of  the  world 
hell  consists.     These  are  all  called  either  devils  or 
satans  ;   those  in  whom  love  of  self  has  predom- 
inated  are  called  devils,  and  those  in  whom  love  of 
the   world   has   predominated   are   called    satans. 
Ihe  hell  containing  devils  is  meant  in  the  Word 
by  the  "Devil."  and  the  hell  containing  satans  is 
meant  by  "Satan."     Moreover,  the   Lord  has  so 
jomed  the  devils  together  that  thev  are  as  one,  and 
also  the  satans  ;    and  this  is  whv  the   hells   are 
called  the  Devil  and  Satan  in  the'  singular 


90 


THE   DIVINE   PROVIDENCE. 


Hell  does  not  consist  of  spirits  immediately  cre- 
ated such,  neither  does  heaven  consist  of  angels 
immediately  created  such  ;  but  hell  consists  of  men 
born  in  the  world,  who  were  made  devils  or  satans 
by  themselves,  and  in  like  manner  heaven  con- 
sists of  men  born  in  the  world,  who  were  there 
made  angels  by  the  Lord.  All  men  in  respect  to 
the  interiors  which  belonj?  to  their  minds  are 
spirits,  clothed  in  the  world  with  a  material  body 
which  is  under  the  direction  of  the  thought  of  the 
spirit  and  under  the  control  of  its  affection  ;  for 
the  mind  which  is  spirit  acts,  and  the  body  which 
is  matter  is  acted  upon  ;  and  every  spirit,  when 
the  material  body  has  been  cast  off,  is  a  man  in  a 
form  like  that  which  he  had  as  a  man  in  the 
world.  All  this  makes  clear  of  whom  hell  con- 
sists.     A.E.,  n    1142 

The  hell  where  those  are  who  are  called  devils 
is  love  of  self  ;   and  the  hell  where  those  are  who 
are  called  satans  is  love  of  the  world.     The  devil- 
ish hell  is  love  of  self  because  that  love  is  the  op- 
posite of  celestial  love  which  is  love  to  the  Lord  ; 
and  the  satanic  hell  is  love  of  the  world  because 
that  love  is  the  opposite  of   spiritual  love,  which 
is  love  towards  the   neighbor.     Now  as   the  two 
loves  of  hell  are  opposites  of   the  two  loves  of 
heaven,  hell  and  the    heavens  are  in  opposition 
to  each  other  ;    for  all  who  are   in   the  heavens 
look  to  the  Lord  and  to  the  neighbor,  but  all  who 
are  in  the  hells  look  to  self  and  the  world.     All 
who  are  in  the  heavens  love  the  Lord  and  the 
neighbor,  and  all  who  are  in  the  hells  love  self 


THE   THIRD   LAW. 


91 


and  the  world,  and  consequently  hate  the  Lord 
and  the  neighbor.  All  who  are  in  the  heavens 
think  what  is  true  and  will  what  is  good,  because 
they  think  and  will  from  the  Lord  ;  but  all  who 
are  in  the  hells  think  what  is  false  and  will  what 
is  evil,  because  they  think  and  will  from  self 
From  this  it  is  that  all  who  are  in  the  hells  ap- 
pear turned  backward,  with  the  face  turned  away 
from  the  Lord ;  they  also  appear  turned  upside 
down,  with  the  feet  upwards  and  the  head  down- 
wards.  They  so  appear  in  accordance  with  their 
loves,  which  are  contrary  to  the  love  of  heaven. 

As  hell  is  love  of  self  it  is  also  a  fire,  for  all  love 
corresponds  to  fire,  and  in  the  spiritual  world  is  so 
presented  as  to  appear  like  a   fire  at  a  distance 
although  it  is  not  a  fire  but  love  ;   and  thus  the 
hells  appear  within  to  be  on  fire,  and  without  like 
outbursts  of  fire  in  smoke  from  furnaces  or  from 
conflagrations;   and  sometimes   the  devils  them- 
selves appear  like  fires  of  coals.     Their  heat  from 
that  fire  is  like  a  boiling  up  from  impurities,  which 
IS  lust ;   and  their  light  from  that  fire  is  only  an 
appearance  of  light  from  fantasies  and  from  con- 
firmations of  evils  by  falsities,  which  in  fac^  is  not 
light,  for  when  the  light  of  heaven  flows  in  it  be- 
comes to  them  thick  darkness,  and  when  the  heat 
of  heaven  flows  in  it  becomes  to  them  cold  ;  never- 
theless they    see  from  their  light,  and   live  from 
their  heat;   but  their  vision  is    like  that  of  owls 
birds  of  night,  and  bats,  whose  eyes  are  blinded 
in  the  light  of  heaven,  and  they  are  only  half  alive. 
The  living  principle  in  them  is  from  an  ability  to 


92 


THE   DIVINE   PROVIDEN'CE. 


think,  to  will,  to  speak,  to  do,  and  in  consequence 
to  see,  to  hear,  to  taste,  to  smell,  and  to  feel ;  and 
this  living  principle  is  merely  a  power  derived  from 
adlion  upon  them  from  without  of  the  life  which 
is  God,  according  to  order,  and  continually  impel- 
ling them  towards  order.  It  is  from  that  power 
that  they  live  to  eternity.  Their  dead  principle  is 
from  the  evils  and  falsities  that  spring  from  their 
loves.  Consequently  their  life  viewed  from  their 
loves  is  not  life  but  death  ;  and  this  is  why  in  the 
Word  hell  is  called  "death,"  and  its  inhabitants 
are  called  "  the  dead."   'A.E.,  n.  1143. 

It  has  been  said  that  love  of  self  and  love  of 
the  world  are  hell,  but  the  source  of  these  loves 
shall  now  be  explained.  Man  was  created  to  love 
self  and  the  world,  to  love  the  neighbor  and  heaven, 
and  to  love  the  Lord.  For  this  reason  when  a 
man  is  born  he  first  loves  himself  and  the  world, 
and  afterwards,  so  far  as  he  becomes  wise,  he  loves 
the  neighbor  and  heaven,  and  as  he  becomes  still 
wiser  he  loves  the  Lord.  Such  a  man  is  in  the  Di- 
vine order,  and  is  a(5lually  led  by  the  Lord,  although 
apparently  by  himself.  But  so  far  as  he  fails  to 
become  wise  he  stops  in  the  first  degree,  which  is 
to  love  himself  and  the  world  ;  and  if  he  loves  the 
neighbor,  heaven,  and  the  Lord,  it  is  for  the  sake 
of  self  before  the  world.  But  if  he  remains  wholly 
unwise  he  loves  himself  alone,  and  the  world  and 
also  the  neighbor  for  the  sake  of  self  ;  while  heaven 
and  the  Lord  he  either  despises  or  denies  or  hates 
in  heart,  if  not  in  words.  These  are  the  origins  of 
the  love  of  self  and  of  the  love  of  the  world,  and 


THE   THIRD   LAW. 


93 


as  these  loves  are  hpll    i.  :,       ■  ■ 

is.  '■  "  '=  evident  whence  hell 

When  a  man  has  become  a  hell   ho '■    >•■ 
uprooted  tree  or  hLv  .   ,  ?     '  ""^  '^  ''''e  a" 

healthy  ;  or  he  is  like  .         T  ""-^"^^  ^™"   '^  ""- 
will   take  root   o    LI        f^  ^"  '"  '^^'^^  "°  «eed 

nothing  h^h';  tiL'  h:r  r^cks:;  T'  TT 

^'.ngs.     When  a  man  becomes  .  hel Mh"      '  '""' 
h.^'her  parts  of  his  mind  Tre  Cosed  nn  '"T u' 
outer  and  loner  are  opened      AnH         u    f^  ""^ 
self  determines  all  things  of  the  ,h       l"'  '°''  °^ 
to  itself  and  in,merses"hem  in  the  h'lf      '"''  '''" 
and  twists  back  the  outer  part,  of'h^""^'  "'  '"^'^"^ 
as  has  been  said,  are  open  and     '      ""     '  "'"'^''• 
these  incline  and  bend  and  ar.  h^    "  eonsequence 
that  is,  towards  hell  """""^  downwards, 

But  since  man  has  <;fjll  o«  ^um* 

Will,  to  speak  and  ^o  d: "Lrtht' a^Ii'.:  *'"''  "^ 
case  taken  awav  from  him    iJ  !   ^  '^  '"  "° 

a  n,an,  so  havin,  bromrinvrr^nJ  Tol  ""^ 
receiving  anv  o-ooH  ^,  'vtriea  and  no  longer 

only  evif  and'  fX'yZZVTJ'^'"  '''''^"'  '"' 
of  liRht  by  confirmLorof  evt'  fZ'f'f  •'  """ 
of  falsity  from  evil,  in   order  that   h.  ■'  ^""^ 

others.     This  he  be  ieves  to  hi  """^  """''^ 

when  vet  if  io       "e"eves  to  be   a  rationa    li^ht 

things  that  are  IppearlT/  ^^  ''"^"°"  °'  ^'''''' 
things  that  ar,n,.  **y  were  not,  and 

-eenanan.c.l.mana:d'n:vlLrr;r.::; 


Q.  THE   DIVINE   PROVIDENCE. 

In  the  world  there  are  angcl-men  and  devil- 
men  •  heaven  is  constituted  of  angel-men,  and  hell 
of  de'vil.men.     With  an  angel-man  all  the  degrees 
of  his  life  are  open  to  the  Lord  ;  but  with  a  deyil- 
man  only  the  lowest  degree  is  open,  and  the  nigher 
degrees  are  closed.     An  angel-man  is  led  oy  the 
Lord  both  from  within  and  from  without ;  but  a 
devil-man  is  led  by  himself  from  within,  and  by 
the  Lord  from  without.     An  angel-man  is  led  by 
the  Lord   according   to   order,  from  within  from 
order,  and  from  without  to  order;  but  a  devil-man 
is  led  by  the  Lord  to  order  from  without,  but  by 
himself  against  order  from  within.     An  angel-man 
is  continually  led  away  from  evil  by  the  Lord,  and 
led  to  good ;  a  devil-man  also  is  continually  led 
away  from  evil  by  the  Lord,  but  from  a  more  to 
a  less  grievous  evil,  for  he  cannot  be  led  to  good 
An  angel-man  is  continually  led  away  from  hell 
by  the  Lord,  and  is  led  into  heaven  more  and  more 
interiorly ;    a  devil-man    is   also   continually   led 
away  from  hell,  but  from  a  more  grievous  to  a 
milder   hell,   for  he    cannot  be   led  into  heaven 
Because  an  angel-man  is  led  by  the  Lord  he  is  led 
by  civil  law,  by  moral  law.  and  by  spiritual  law, 
for   the   sake   of   the    Divine    in   them;   a  devil- 
man  is  led  by  the  same  laws,  but  for  the  sake  of 
his  own  suu,u  in  them.     An  angel-man  loves  from 
the  Lord  the  goods  of  the  church,  which  are  the 
goods  of  heaven,  because  they  are  goods,  also  its 
truths  because  they  are  truths  ;   but  he  loves  from 
self  the  goods  of  the  body  and  of  the  world  be- 
cause  they  are  for  use  and  because  they  are  for 


'HE    THIRD    LAW. 


95 


pleasure,  likewise  the  truth.  *u      , 

sciences;  but  althouSh     Ives  alTthef"^  '°  '"^ 

oi  .he  ^::Lz::iziz'i':z::^^  '"^  ^^^-^^ 

use  and  because  thev  are  for.?  ^^^  "^  for 

truths  that  belong  to  the  Jr  ^'l'^'  '''^^"'=<=  'he 
■oves  a„  these  in  Ip  eLrcrSnT^^.f  ,';°"^'',  "^ 

ing.ood fro.  gootfnd  w  ::  HTsTJ^  ''  "  '"■ 
but  a  devil-man  is  in  freedom  .„!.  u  '""  ^''''  ■ 
his  heart  when  he  is  doln  J"  ""^  '^^''R'"  "f 

when  he  is  doing  evi  a"^  """^^  ''°'"  ^^"-  ^"'' 
'nan  in  external! appear  aUkeT;'"^"  ^"'^  '^  <^^^"- 
are  wholly  unlike  •  ther.f  u"' '"  ""<=rnals  they 

are  laid  alide  by  dU^'^H  ""'"  ^'"^™'''  '"ings 
The  one  is  taken  up  i^,'  7  "'"  manifestly  unlike, 
taken  down  into VeU  '"  ° '•^^^^".  and  the  other  is 

That  man  is  merelv  f'rZ,.'"'' ' 
truth  from  the  Wd  .L     T"?,'^"'  »'  good  and 

hell,  must  be  iMus^'ated  bv  c  """^  '"'"'>■  f™'" 

by  the  laws  of  order  and  Infl'"'"^"^  confirmed 
bshed  by  experience  I,  m^  ^"''  ""^"^  «'ab- 
'owing  comparisons      Th       '""='^^"^d  by  the  fol- 

are  recipienfa'd  "^-rcipfent'o"?""  °'  '"'  ""^y 
■bemselves  ;  the  se^so^y'  of  ,1  ^vt.Vh '"^^'f  '™'" 
sees  objects  out  of  itself  as   if   •  "  "'^  ^y^' 

them.  when,  in  fact,  the  avs  o  Ik"'"'"  ''°''  "^^ 
wings  of  ether  their  form,TH  ?*"  ""^^^  '"•'^ 
and  these  forms  Xe  ^r L!  edT  °th  '"°  ""  "''' 
--d  by  an  'nternal''sight'rt'?s'c:„?;r  „t 


fe&aiima»aifite*m».iM>«w 


96 


THE   DIVINE   PROVIDENCE. 


THE   THIRD    LAW. 


derstanding,  and  are  distinguished  and  recognized 
according  to  their  quality.     It  is  the  same  with  the 
sensory  of  hearing.    This  perceives  sounds,  whether 
words  or  musical  tones,  from  the  place  from  which 
thev  come  as  if  it  were  there ;    when  in  fact,  the 
sounds  flow  in  from  without  and  are  perceived  by 
the  understanding  within  the  ear.     It  is  the  same 
with  the  sensorv  of  smell  ;  this,  too,  perceives  from 
within  what  flows  in  from  without,  sometimes  from 
a  great  distance.     Also  the  sensory  of  taste  is  ex- 
cited  by  the  foods  that  come  in  contact  with  the 
tongue  from  without.     The  sensory  of  touch  does 
not  feel  unless  it  is  touched.     These  five  bodily  sen- 
sories  by  virtue  of  an  influx  from  within  are  sensi- 
ble of  what  flows  in  from  without ;  the  influx  from 
within  is  from  the  spiritual  world,  and  the  influx 
from  without  is  from  the  natural  world. 

With  all  this  the  laws  inscribed  on  the  nature  of 
all  things  are  in  harmony,  which  laws  are  :— 

(i.)  That  nothing  has  existence  or  subsistence 
from  itself,  or  is  aded  upon  or  moved 
by  itself,  but  only  by  something  else. 
From  this  it  follows  that  every  thing 
has  existence  and  subsistence  and  is 
adled  upon  and  moved  by  a  First  that 
is  from  no  other,  but  is  in  itself  the  liv^ 
ing  force,  which  is  life, 

(ii.)  That  nothing  can  be  acled  upon  or  moved 
unless  it  is  intermediate  between  two 
forces,  one  of  which  ac'ls  and  the  other 
reads,  that  is,  unless  one  acts  on  the  one 
side  and  the  other  on  the  other,  and  un- 


97 


less  one  acls  from  within  and  the  other 
from  without. 

(iii.)  And  since  these  two  forces  when  at  re^t 
produce  an  eqznlihrium,  it  follows  that 
nolnngcan  be  put  in  adion  or  moved 
unless  tt  ts  in  equilibrium,  and  when 
put  tn  aclion  tt  u  out  of  the  equiUb- 
riwn;  also  that  every  thing  lut  in 
ad  ion  or  moved  seeks  to  return  to  an 
equilibrium. 

Ov.)  That  all  adivities  are  changes  of  stale 
and  variations  of  form,  and  that  the 
latter  are  from  the  fanner. 

changes  of  state  the  afifections  of  love  •    bv  forr^ 

exp^dencl'  'th'^  ''^"'  '^"^  ^'^  ^^^^^"^-"^  of 
experience.     The   angels   of  the   higher  heavens 

have  a  clear  feeling  and  perception  that  their  goods 

and  truths  are  from  the  Lord,  and  that  they  hive 

nothing  at  all  of  good  and  truth  from  themselves 

And  when  they  are  let  down  into  the  state  ofthet 

Tri    VT  ^  ''  "'''''  ^"^  ^^^"  ^Jo"e.  they  have 
a  clear  feehng  and  perception  that  the   ev^l  and 

f^m'hen.'"^^"^  ^°  '''"  ''''  ^^-^--)  ^^ey  have 
Some   angels  of  the  lowest   heaven   who  did 
not  comprehend  that  evil  and  falsity  are  from  he  ] 

werrtrems?;  '''  '^"7^^  '"  ^^^  ^^^^  ^^at  they 
were  themselves  in  evils  from  birth  and  from  adual 


.:■<■■  aifc* 


gS  THE   DIVINE    TROVIDENCE. 

life,  were  led  through  infernal  societies  from  one 
to  another,  and  in  each  one  while  they  were  in  it 
they  thought  just  as  the  devils  there  thought,  and 
differently  in  the  several  societies,  thinking  in  op- 
position to  goods  and  truths.     They  were  told  to 
think   from   themselves,  and   thus  otherwise,  but 
they  said  that  they  were  wholly  unable  to  do  so. 
In  this  way  they  were  made  to  comprehend  that 
evils  and  falsities  flow  in  from  hell.     It  is  the  same 
with  many  who  believe  and  insist  that  they  have 
life  in  themselves.     Also  i[  sometimes  occurs  that 
angels  are  separated  from  the  societies  with  which 
they  are  connected,  and  when  thus  separated  they 
are  unable  to  think,  will  speak,  or  ad,  but  lie  like 
new  born  infants  ;  but  as  soon  as  they  are  restored 
to  their  societies  they  revive.     For  every  one,  man, 
spirit,  or  angel,  is  connected  as  to  his  affections  and 
thoughts  therefrom  with  societies,  and  acts  as  one 
with  them  ;  and  for  this  reason  it  is  known  what 
each  one  is  from  the  society  in  which  he  is.     All 
this  makes  clear  that  the  quality  of  each  one's  life 
flows  in  from  without. 

With  regard  to  myself  I  can  testify  that  for 
fifteen  years  I  have  clearly  perceived  that  I  have 
thought  nothing  and  willed  nothing  of  myself ;  also 
that  every  evil  and  falsity  has  flowed  in  from  in- 
fernal societies,  and  that  every  good  and  truth  has 
flowed  in  from  the  Lord.  Some  spirits  reflecting 
upon  this  declared  that  I  had  no  life.  It  was  per- 
mitted me  to  reply,  1  am  more  alive  than  you  are, 
since  I  feel  the  influx  of  good  and  truth  from  the 
Lord  and  see  and  perceive  the  enlightenment.     I 


THE    THIRD    LAW 


99 


also  perceive  from  the  Lord  that  evils  and  falsities 
are  from  hell,  and  not  only  that  this  is  so,  but  also 
from   what  spirits  they  come ;   and    it   has  been 
granted  me  to  speak  with  these,  to  rebuke  them 
and  to  reject  them  with  the.  evils  and  falsities,  and 
thus  I  was  delivered  from  them.    Furthermore   it 
was  granted  me  to  say  that  now  I  know  that  I  live 
and  beiore  I  did  not  know  it.     From  all  this  I  have 
been  fully  convinced  trtat  every  evil  and  falsity  is 
from  hell,  and  every  good  and  truth,  together  with 
the    perception  of  them,  is  from  the   Lord  •   and 
moreover,  that  I  have  freedom  and  thus  perceo- 
tion  as  if  from  myself.  ^ 

/^^^^in,  that  every  evil  and  falsity  is  from  hell 
It  has  been  granted  me  to  see  with  my  own  eyes. 
Over  the  he  Is  there  is  an  appearance  of  fires  and 
smoke;    evils  are   fires   and   falsities  are  smoke. 
Ihese  are  continually  pouring  forth  and  rising  up 
and  the  spirits  that  dwell  in    the  midst  between 
heaven  and  hell  are  affected  by  them  according  to 
he,r  love.     It  shall  be  told  briefly  how  evil  and 
falsity  have  power  to  flow  forth  from  hell    when 

there  exists  only  one  acting  force,  which  is  the  life 
that  is  God  ;  this  also  has  been  revealed.  There  was 
uttered  vvith  a  loud  voice  out  of  heaven  a  truth  from 
the  Word,  which  flowed  down  to  hell  and  through  it 
to  Its  bottom  ;  and  it  was  perceived  that  this  truth 
m  us  flowing  down  was  successively  and  by  de 
grees  turned  into  falsity,  and  at  length  into  such 
falsity  as  is  wholly  opposite  to  the  truth  •  then  it 
was  in  the  lowest  hell.     It  was  so  changed' because 
every  thing  is  received  according  to  state  and  form  • 


lOO 


THE   DIVINE    PROVIDENCE. 


SO  truth  flowing  into  inverted  forms,  such  as  are 
in  hell,  became  successively  inverted  and  changed 
into  the  falsity  opposite  to  the  truth.  From  this  it 
is  clear  what  hell  is  from  top  to  bottom,  also  that 
there  is  but  one  acting  force,  which  is  the  life  that 

is  the  Lord.     A.E.,  n.  1147 

That  man  nevertheless  is  a  subject  of  guilt  fol- 
lows from  what  has  been  said  above,  and  also  from 
what  has  been  before  established  respecting  the  life 
that  is  God  and  that  is  in  man  from  God  ;  it  fol- 
lows also  from  the  above  mentioned  laws,  which 
are  truths.  Evil  is  imputed  to  man  because  it  has 
been  granted  him.  and  is  continually  granted  him, 
to  fc^l  and  to  perceive  as  if  life  were  in  him  ;  and 
as  he  is  in  that  state  he  also  has  the  freedom  and 
ability  to  act  as  if  from  himself ;  and  that  power 
regarded  in  itself,  and  that  freedom  regarded  in  it- 
self, are  not  taken  away  from  man,  because  he  is 
born  a  man  who  is  to  live  for  ever.  It  is  from  that 
ability  and  that  freedom  that  he  is  able  to  receive 
both  good  and  evil  as  if  of  himself.  And  as  man 
is  held  at  the  middle  point  between  heaven  and 
hell,  the  Lord  gives  him  to  know  that  good  is  from 
Him  and  that  evil  is  from  the  devil,  also  to  know 
by  truths  in  the  church  what  is  good  and  what  is 
evil.  When  man  knows  this,  and  it  is  granted  him 
by  the  Lord  to  think,  will,  speak  and  do  this  as  if 
from  himself,  and  this  continually  by  influx,  then 
if  he  does  not  receive  he  becomes  guilty. 

But  man  is  chiefly  misled  by  his  not  knowing 
that  his  freedom  and  his  ability  to  act  as  if  from 
himself  are  from  an  influx  of  life  from  the  Lord 


THE  THIRD   LAW.  j^j 

has  such  an  in.ost;  yeuhl -nTu^oTu?;  l.lTe 
Lord. mo  the  recipient  forms  that  are  beneltMhat 
mmost  where  and  in  which  forms  the  understand 
mg  and  w,Il  have  their  seat,  is  varied  accodS 
o  the  reception  of  good  and  truth ;   and  in  fact 

s  m  h,s  mmost,  and  is  therefore  universally  ac  He 
n  the  lower  parts,  the  life  from  which  man  has 
freedom  and  the  ability  to  think,  will  sneak  Ind  .rT 
.s  unceasingly  in  man  from  the  LordTbut  man-s 
understandmg  and  will  therefrom,  thlt  i  fro  ' 
that  hfe,  are  changed  and  varied  accordin^rr^ 

h^ll'^'^^"!"   '"  "'*  "''<^''  "^""'een  heaven  and 
hell    and  the  delight  of  the  love  of  evil  and  of 
falsty  therefrom  flows  into  him  from  hell   whil 
he  dehght  of  the  love  of  good  and  of  truth  there 
from  flows  into  him  from  the  Lord,  and  he   s  u„ 

sTom'i'  '^'u '"  '.  ''"''"^  ^"^  perception  tha  li^e' 
s  f  om  himself,  and  thereby  is  also  held  unceasingly 
m  the  freedom  to  choose  the  one  or  the  other 
and  m  the  ability  to  receive  the  one  or  he  o the  ' 
So  far  heretore,  as  he  chooses  and  receives  ev[i 
and  falsuy.  so  far  from  that   middle  state  he  t 

rooTandZtr^f  ^  ';"• '"'  ^°  '^'  -  "-"oL 


si^^asimtb 


102 


THE   DIVINE    rROVIDENCE. 


Man  is  from  creation  in  a  state  to  know  that 
evil  is  from  hell  and  that  good  is  from  the  Lord, 
and  to  perceive  these  in  himself  as  if  they  were 
from  himself,  and  when  he  so  perceives  them  to 
cast  the  evil  down  to  hell  and  to  receive  the  good, 
with  the  acknowledgment  that  it  is  from  the  Lord. 
When  he  does  these  two  things  he  does  not  appro- 
priate evil  to  himself,  and  does  not  claim  merit  for 
the  good. 

Kut  I  know  that  there  are  many  who  do  not 
comprehend  this,  and  who  have  no  desire  to  com- 
prehend it,  but  let  them  pray,  "That  the  Lord  may 
be  with  them  continually,  that  He  may  lift  up  and 
turn  His  face  to  them,  that  He  may  teach,  enlighten, 
and  lead  them,  since  of  themselves  they  can  do 
nothing  that  is  good,  and  that  He  may  grant  to 
them  to  live  ;  that  the  devil  may  not  lead  them 
astray  and  instil  evils  into  their  hearts,  knowing 
that  if  they  are  not  led  by  the  Lord  the  devil 
will  lead  them  and  breathe  into  them  evils  of  every 
kind,  as  hatred,  revenge,  cunning,  and  deceit,  as  a 
serpent  instils  poison  ;  for  the  devil  is  present  stir- 
ring up  and  continually  accusing,  and  vvheresoever 
he  meets  with  a  heart  turned  away  from  God  he 
enters  in,  dwells  there,  and  draws  the  soul  down  to 
hell.  O  Lord,  deliver  us."  These  words  coincide 
with  what  has  been  said  above,  for  hell  is  the  devil. 
Moreover,  this  is  an  acknowledgment  that  man  is 
led  cither  by  the  Lord  or  by  hell,  thus  that  he  is 
between  the  two.     A.E.,  n.  1148.) 


THE  FOURTH   LAW. 


103 


The  Fourth  La 


IV. 


w  OF  DiviN'E  Providence. 


The  fourth  law  of  Divine  providence  i.  t;  / 
M^  undcrstandiuir  and  -n//  .  "^'^^"^e  is,  T/uU 
V      *L     ,  *"'''i   ana   ^oill  must  7tot  be  ^mtj^.'//-^ 

this,  I  will  to  speak  this,  and  I  will   to  do  tM 
Moreover  from  tu^  /      j  /  ^^  'nis. 

an  abnltv  tor-  ^  "'^  "*'"'  '"^"  "^^^ 

-i!l  gives  this  atl  °  t"'"''  ""'^  '°  "^"^  =  '°'  '^e 
Since  freedom  L     '''  ''"'^"='^  «  »'^««  f^-edom. 

dom  in  m'n  '•  """  "°"""*^  constitutes  free- 
and  for  ,T  c  ""'  "'^  '°^=  '^at  is  of  his  will  • 
and  for  this  reason  that  love  is  man's  life  •  Inr 
man  is  such  as  his  lr,„»  •  '   '""^ 

eoes  forth  frn^.K    ■        '  •  <^""s«q"ently  whatever 
Cli  e      Th  f  '°"  °'  ^'"  '^"'  *^°«  f°"h  from 

to  man's  I)     "'^^^  ,^'<=-^  'hat  freedom  belongs 

H       tiy  that  It  makes  one  with  what  is  his  own 
"'"'"•"""  ^""1  »-«h  his  nature  and  disposition 


104 


THE   DIVINE  PROVIDENCE. 


THE   FOURTH    LAW. 


Now  because  it  is  the  Lord's  will  that  every  thing 
that  comes  to  man  from  Himself  should  be  appro- 
priated to  man  as  if  it  were  his  own,  since  other- 
wise there  would  be  in  man  no  ability  to  recipro- 
cate, by  which  conjunction  is  effected,  so  it  is  a 
law  of  Divine  providence  that  man's  understanding 
and  will  should  not  be  compelled  in  the  least  by 
another.  For  who  is  not  able  to  think  and  will  evil 
or  good,  against  the  laws  or  with  the  laws,  against 
the  king  or  with  the  king,  and  even  against  God  or 

with  God  ? 

Yet  man  is  not  allowed  to  speak  and  do  every 
thing  that  he  thinks  and  wills.  There  are  fears  that 
compel  the  externals,  but  there  are  no  fears  that 
compel  the  internals  ;  and  for  the  reason  that  the 
externals  must  be  reformed  by  means  of  the  in- 
ternals, and  not  the  internals  by  means  of  the  ex- 
ternals ;  for  what  is  internal  flows  into  what  is 
external,  and  not  the  reverse.  Moreover,  internals 
belong  to  man's  spirit,  and  externals  to  his  body, 
and  as  it  is  the  spirit  of  man  that  must  be  reformed 
the  spirit  is  not  compelled. 

Nevertheless,  there  are  fears  that  compel  man's 
internals  or  his  spirit,  but  they  are  only  such  fears 
as  flow  in  from  the  spiritual  world,  and  which  re- 
late on  the  one  hand  to  the  punishments  of  hell, 
and  on  the  other  to  the  loss  of  favor  with  God. 
But  fear  on  account  of  the  punishments  of  hell  is 
an  external  fear  of  the  thought  and  will,  while  the 
fear  of  the  loss  of  favor  with  God  is  an  internal 
fear  of  the  thought  and  will,  and  is  the  holy  fear 
that  adds  and  conjoins  itself  to  the  love,  with  which 


105 


I 


at  length  it  makes  one  essence.  It  is  like  the  fear 
of  mjuring  one  whom  we  love  that  springs  from 
the  love,    [a.e.,  n.  1150 

There  is  an  infernal  freedom  and  there  is  a 
heavenly  freedom.  Infernal  freedom  is  that  into 
which  man  is  born  from  his  parents,  and  heavenly 
freedom  is  that  into  which  man  is  reformed  by  the 
Lord.  From  infernal  freedom  man  has  a  will  of 
evil,  a  love  of  evil,  and  a  life  of  evil  ;  while  from 
heavenly  freedom  he  has  a  will  of  good,  a  love  of 
good,  and  a  life  of  good  ;  for  as  has  been  said  be- 
fore,  a  man's  will,  love,  and  life,  make  one  with  his 
freedom. 

These  two  kinds  of  freedom  are  opposites  of 
each  other,  but  the  opposition  is  not  evident  except 
so  far  as  man  is  in  one  and  not  in  the  other.     But 
a  man  cannot  come  out  of  infernal  freedom  into 
heavenly  freedom  unless  he  compels  himself     To 
compel  oneself  is  to  resist  evil  and  to  f^ght  against 
It  as  if  from  oneself,  but  nevertheless  to  pray  to 
the  Lord  for  help.     Thus  a  man  fights  from  the 
freedom  that  is  inwardly   in  him  from  the  Lord 
^^n'^'I.Jl"^,  freedom  that  is  outwardlv  in  him  from 
hell.     While  he  is  in  the  fight  it  seems  to  him  that 
It  IS  not  freedom  from  which  he  fights,  but  a  kind 
of  compulsion,  because  it  is  against  that  freedom 
into  which  he  was  born  ;   and  yet  it  is  freedom 
since  otherwise  he  would  not  fight  as  if  of  himself' 
But  this  inward  freedom  from  which  he  fights 
which  seems   like   compulsion,  is   afterwards  felt 
as  freedom,  for  it  becomes  like  what  is  involuntary 
spontaneous,  and  as  it  were  innate-comparatively 


io6 


THE   DIVINE    PROVIDENCE. 


THE    FOURTH    LAW. 


107 


like  one's  compelling  his  hand  to  write,  to  work,  to 
play  a  musical  instrument,  or  to  contend  in  games, 
for  after  a  while  the  hands  and  arms  do  these 
things  as  if  of  themselves  or  spontaneously — for 
man  is  then  in  good  because  he  is  then  removed 
from  evil  and  is  led  by  the  Lord. 

When  a  man  has  compelled  himself  to  acl  in 
opposition  to  infernal  freedom  he  sees  and  per- 
ceives that  infernal  freedom  is  servitude  and  that 
heavenly  freedom  is  freedom  itself,  because  it  is 
from  the  Lord.  The  essence  of  the  matter  is  this, 
that  so  far  as  a  man  compels  himself  by  resisting 
evils  so  far  the  infernal  societies  with  which  he  acls 
as  one  are  removed  from  him,  and  he  is  introduced 
by  the  Lord  into  heavenly  societies,  with  which 
he  ads  as  one.  On  the  other  hand,  if  a  man  does 
not  compel  himself  to  resist  evils  he  remains  in 
them.  That  this  is  so  I  have  learned  through 
much  experience  in  the  spiritual  world,  and  further, 
that  evil  does  not  withdraw  in  consequence  of  any 
compulsion  that  comes  from  punishments,  or  after- 
wards from  fear  of  punishments.    (.I.E.,  n.  1151.) 

It  has  been  said  above  that  it  is  a  law  of  Divine 
providence  that  man  himself  should  compel  him- 
self ;  but  this  means  that  he  should  compel  himself 
from  evil,  and  does  not  mean  that  he  should  com- 
pel himself  to  good ;  for  it  is  possible  for  man  to 
compel  himself  from  evil,  but  not  to  compel  him- 
self to  good  that  in  itself  is  good.  For  when  a 
man  compels  himself  to  good  and  has  not  compelled 
himself  from  evil  he  does  good  from  himself  and 
not  from  the  Lord,  for  he  compels  himself  to  it  for 


or.ht  I?  ?  '•  "'  '°'  ""^  "'^''  °f  'he  world,  or 
for  the  sake  of  recompense,  or  from  fear ;  and  sLch 
good  .s  not  m  itself  good,  l.ecause  the  m;n  himself 
or  the  world  or  recompense  is  in  it  as  its  end  and 
no  the  good  itself,  thus  neither  the  Lord  and  U 
■s  love  and  not  fear  that  makes  good  to  be  good 

for  example,  to  compel  oneself  to  do  good  to 
ones  netghbor.  to  give  to  the  poor,  to  endow 
churches,  to  do  what  is  righteous,  thus  to  compel 
oneself  to  chanty  and  truth  before  compelling  one 

be  Ike  a  palliative  treatment  by  which  the  disease 
or  ulcer  ,s  healed  externally;  or  like  an  adulterer 
compelhng  h.mself  to  ad  chastely,  or  a  proud  .^an 
o  acl  humbly,  or  a  dishonest  man  to  act  honestly 
in  external  conduct.  ' 

But  when  a  man  compels  himself  from  evils  he 
punfies  h.s  mlernal,  and  when  that  is  purified  he 

self  tol  •  '7  ^'''f  ■"  "'»''°"'  --Pe'ling  him- 
self  to  do  It :  for  so  far  as  a  man  compels  himself 
from  eviI  so  far  he  comes  into  heavenly  freedom 

"'n  i"df  ^'"''.°'"  ''"'"y  '"ing'good  thai 
>su  ,  self  good,  and  to  such  good  man  does  not 

compel  himself.     The  appearance  is  that  compel. 

Lod  nf       'T  ""  '""  ^"-PelHng  oneself  to 
good  necessarily  go   together,  but   they   do   not 
I  know  from  the  evidence  of  experience  of  manv 
who  have  compelled  themselves  ,o  do  goods   bu^ 

rasfouTdr:'!^'  r^  "''^"  ^"^"^  "-^  ^^^^^ 

was  found  that  evils  from  within  clung  to  the  goods 
and  in  consequence  their  goods  wer!  like  id^oh  »; 
-mages  made  of  clay  or  dung ;  and  it  was  said  tha[ 


gmmg 


^sM 


io8 


THE   DIVINE   PROVIDENCE. 


such  persons  believe  that  God  may  be  pained  over 
by  praise  and  gifts,  even  from  an  impure  heart. 
Nevertheless,  before  the  world  a  man  may  compel 
himself  to  goods  without  compelling  himself  from 
evil,  since  in  the  world  he  is  compensated  for  so 
doing ;  for  in  the  world  the  external  is  mainly  re- 
garded and  the  internal  is  rarely  regarded ;  but 
before  God  it  is  not  so.    {A.£.f  n.  usa.i 


THE   FIFTH    LAW. 


log 


V. 

THE  FIFTH  Law  of  Divine  Providence. 

The  fifth  law  of   Divine  providence   ,•<;     t;   , 
froms.n.e  an, p.^rc.ption  nran  L  J/./w  ^  ^^ 
^^U  how  srood  and  trufh  /}^^     •     u-        '^^^^  ^n  mm- 

he  see  how  Divine  4.^..  v         ''  '    ^^^  ^^« 

freedom  accordin^orasotJfJ      ""''  ^^  ^^^"^ 
is  sufRcienl  fJr  J      Z    T        '/ A^^  himself.     // 

This  is  wh.r-  d^^rine  of  the  ehurch, 

John?       ^'^  ''  "^^^"^  ^y  ^he  Lord's  words  in 

•t  Cometh  or  whither  ieoeth     ''""^^^'  "'^t  vv-hence 
•^-  born  of  the  spirit  "-K    '        '^  ^^^"""^  °"^  ^^^^ 
Also  by  these  words  in  Mark  : 

"^'up  •r.^;?rea";,f.'n'd"t/''^  f  "^^"  ^'-*  -«teth  seed 
a^d  day;  P^^t;!;^';^^^  and  riseth  n.^^ 


and  dav;  but    he  so  h"*".-^''^.'  ^'^"^  "^^fh  n.^^ht 


up  when  he  know.h  it  rfnTT^V"''  ^"^  H^roweth 

•uit  ..{    hersel"   Zs     .[.r    'i^'"  '^.P  earth leareth 

!-nSth  the  iuM  corn    n    he  e^r  ^''n^'^l  *^^  .^^'^'  ^' 

»s  brought  Jorth  ho  ,Vnf7«^k       '/,  "'^  ^''^*^"  *'>«  *'uit 

the  hardest.;  at  han!l'"!!\6%9r  "'"'''  ^''""'" 


no 


THE   DIVINE   PROVIDENCE. 


away  his  freedom,  and  thus  his  ability  to  think  as 
if  of  himself,  and  with  it  every  delight  of  life  ;  thus 
man  would  be  like  an  automaton,  having  no  ability 
to  reciprocate,  which  is  the  means  of  conjunction  ; 
also  he  would  be  a  slave  and  not  a  free  man.     Di- 
vine providence  moves  so  secretly  that  scarcely  a 
trace  of  it  is  seen,  although  it  acts  upon  tl\e  most 
minute  things  of    man's  thought  and  will,  which 
have  regard  to  his  eternal   state,  chiefly   for  the 
reason  that  the  Lord  wills  unceasingly  to  impress 
His  love  on  man,  and  through  it  His  wisdom,  and 
thus  create  him  into  His  image.     Consequently  the 
operation  of  the  Lord  is  into  man's  love  and  from 
that  into  his  understanding,  and  not  the  reverse. 
Love  with  its  affections,  which  are  manifold  and 
innumerable,  is  perceived  by  man  only  by  a  most 
general  feeling,  anil  thus  so  slightly  that  there  is 
scarcely  any  thing  of  it ;  and  yet  that  man  may  be 
reformed  and  saved  he  must  be  led  from  one  affec- 
tion of  loves  into  another  according  to  their  con- 
nection from  order,  a  thing  that  no  man  and  even 
no  angel  can  at  all  comprehend. 

If  a  man  should  learn  any  thing  of  these  arcana 
he  could  not  be  withheld  from  leading  himself ;  and 
in  this  he  would  be  continually  led  from  heaven 
into  hell,  while  the  Lord's  leading  is  continually 
from  hell  towards  heaven.  For  from  himself  man 
constantly  acts  against  order,  while  the  Lord  acts 
constantly  according  to  order  ;  for  man,  from  the 
nature  derived  from  his  parents,  is  in  the  love  of 
self  and  the  love  of  the  world,  and  consequently 
perceives  from  a  feeling  of  delight  every  thing  be- 


THE   FIFTH    LAW. 

longmg  to  those  loves  n«;  crr^^A 

loves  as  ends  mus    be  '  mo    '/"^^^^^eless,  those 

by  the  Lord  in"n   nite  ways  7h  '   "'  ^''^  ^^  ^^"^ 

fore  the  angels  of  the  t^d'ht'/^rk^thr  ''' 
of  a  labvrinth.  «vcu,  uKe  the  ways 

^<^^v'^t^'^n:t:::!::\ti'"^\-o^  ^nd  no 

sense  or  Perception  ^^"^^"0^,^°^  '.'"^  ^^^^ 
inslead,  and   would   destrov  T-,"^"  '"'"  harm 

sufficient  forr.J,o{ZZ^Z  °„dT  ''  " 
Of  truths  to  know  wh-if  Jc  ,     '  ^^  '"^^"s 

and  to  ac.„ow,:;;el^:  Lo^'^^Xj^^.Z  ''"' 
■n  every  least  thing.  Thus  so  f  .^  l  ,  "'^ 
truths,  and  Icnows  by  means  of  ,h  u^^  ^"°^^ 

and  what  is  evil   andZlT  u  "  "'*""  '^  »?°°<1 

hin.self,  so  far   L  T  o  f,   "\''="  '■''  ^"'^  as  if  from 

Wisdom  "con ti  :,'-ro'::','ro  ^'ir '™"'  '°^'^ "«° 

■o  love,  and  making   him    0  be'^""  ,'" '^  '''"^'"" 
are  one   in    Himself     Th  ^'  ''"^"^^  '^ey 

Lord  leads  mnn  m.v  K  "'^•'''  ''>'  "'"'^h  the 

through  whkh "hTh  o^  '°'"P"''^  '°  "'^  ^'«^e'- 
culates  also  ,0   h!  f  k        '"  '"^"  <^°"^=«  and  cir- 

and  wiiht:  he  V  s  erfo?  the"'h"y°"''"«=  ^-''- 
the  brain,  through  whTohtLe,^',"''''''^"^  '" 
and  gives  life.  *"""^'  spirit  flows 

in  and^.^J'thrZh'".:'!'"  '"  '""^  '"'"^^  "o- 
his  life  goes  on  ifo^K.\  "r"'  """^'"^  ^  and  yet 
to  do  and  does  "  '.  fh  "'  ''''^'  "^  "^^^s 
Lord  leads  man  L  fl  '"^^^  ^^  ^'"^h  the 

explicable,  br.h?s/:.X,XSr  T'  '"" 
"'-ugh  the  societies  of\ei;:'„^''L";n;r:-'; 


112 


THE  DIVINE   PROVIDENCE. 


and  also  those  by  which  he  leads  him  through  the 
societies  of  heaven  and  inwardly  into  them.  This, 
therefore,  is  what  is  meant  by  "  the  wind  bloweth 
where  it  listeth,  and  ihou  knowest  not  whence  it 
cometh  and  whither  it  goeth  "  {John  iii.  8),  also  by 
•'  the  seed  springeth  up  and  groweth  up,  the  man 
knoweth  not  how"  {Mark  iv.  27).  Moreover,  of 
what  consequence  is  it  for  a  man  to  know  how 
seed  grows,  provided  he  knows  how  to  plough  and 
harrow  the  ground,  to  sow  the  seed,  and  when  he 
reaps  his  harvest  to  bless  God?    A.E.,  n.  1153) 

The  operation  of  Divine  providence  and  man's 
ignorance  of  it  may  be  illustrated  by  two  compar- 
isons. It  is  like  a  gardener  collecting  the  seeds  of 
shrubs,  fruit  trees,  and  flowers  of  all  kinds,  and 
providing  himself  with  spades,  rakes,  and  other 
tools  for  working  the  ground,  and  then  fertil- 
izing his  garden,  digging  it,  dividing  it  into  beds, 
putting  in  the  seeds,  and  smoothing  the  surface. 
All  these  things  man  must  do  as  if  of  himself. 
But  it  is  the  Lord  who  causes  the  seeds  to  take 
root,  to  spring  forth  out  of  the  earth,  to  shoot  forth 
into  leaves  and  then  into  blossoms,  and  finally  to 
yield  new  seeds  for  the  benefit  of  the  gardener. 
Again,  it  is  like  a  man  about  to  build  a  house,  who 
provides  himself  with  the  necessary  materials,  as 
timber,  rafters,  stone,  mortar,  and  other  things. 
But  afterwards  the  Lord  builds  the  house  from 
foundation  to  roof  exaclly  adapted  to  the  man, 
though  the  man  does  not  know  it.  From  this  it 
follows,  that  unless  a  man  provides  the  necessary 
things  for  a  garden  or  a  house,  he  will  have  no 


THE   FIFTH    LAW. 


"3 


garden  with  the  benefit  of  its  fruits,  and  no  house 
with  the  privilege  of  living  in  it. 

So  it  is  with  reformation.     The  things  that  man 
must  provide  himself  with  are  knowledges  of  truth 
from  the  Word,  from  the  dodrine  of  the  church 
rom  the  world,  and  by  his  own  efforts;   and  the 
Lord  does  everything  else  while  man  is  ignorant 
ot  It.     But  It  IS  to  be  noted,  that  all  things  neces- 
sary  to  planting   a  garden  or  building   a  house 
which,  as  has  been  said,  are  knowledges  of  truth 
and  good,  are  nothing  but  the  materials,  and  have 
no  life  in  them  until  man  does  them  or  lives  accord 
ing  to  them  as  if  of  himself.     When  that  is  done 
the  Lord  enters  and  vivifies  and  builds,  that  is  re- 
forms.    Such  a  garden  or  such  a  house  is  mkn's 
understanding,  for  therein  is  his  wisdom,  which  de- 
rives from  love  all  that  it  is.    {a  E.  n  1154) 


114 


THE  DIVINE   PROVIDENCE. 


THE  SIXTH   LAW. 


II5 


VI. 


The  Sixth  Law  of  Divine  Providence. 

The  sixth  law  of   Divine  providence  is,    That 
man  is  reformed  not  by  external  means  but  by  inkr- 
nal  means.     By  external  means  miracles  and  visions, 
also  fears  and  punishments,  are  meant.     By  internal 
means  truths  and  goods  from  the  Word  atid  from 
the  dodrine  of  the  church,  and  looking  to  the  Lord, 
are  meant ;  for  these  means  enter  by  an  internal  way, 
and  cast  out  the  evils  and  falsities  that  have  their 
seat  within  ;  but  external  means  enter  by  an  external 
way,  and  do  not  cast  out  evils  and  falsities,  but  shut 
them  in.     Nevertheless,  man  may  be  further  reformed 
by  external  means  ivhen  he  has  previously  been  re- 
formed  by  internal  means. 

This  follows  from  the  above  mentioned  laws, 
namely,  that  man  is  reformed  by  means  of  free- 
dom, and  not  without  freedom,  also  that  to  com- 
pel oneself  is  from  freedom,  but  to  be  compelled 
is  not,  and  man  is  compelled  by  miracles  and 
visions,  and  also  by  fears  and  punishments ;  but 
miracles  and  visions  compel  the  external  of  his 
spirit,  which  consists  in  thinking  and  willing;  and 
fears  and  punishments  compel  the  external  of  his 
body,  which  consists  in  speaking  and  doing.    This 


may  be  compelled,  because  man  nevertheless  thinks 
and  wills  freely  :    but  the  external  of    his  spirit 
which  consists  in  thinking  and  willing,  mus^not 
be  compelled,  for  thus  his  internal  freedom  per- 
ishes  and  without  this  man  cannot  be  reformed 

If  man  could  have  been  reformed  by  miracles 
and  visions,  all  in   the  whole  world   would  have 
been  reformed.     It  is  therefore  a  holy  law  of  Di! 
vine  providence  that   internal  freedom  should  in 
no  way  be  violated  ;  for  by  that  freedom  the  Lord 
enters  mto  man,  even  into  the  hell  where  he  is 
and  by  It  leads  him  while  in  hell,  and  if  he  is  wi   -' 
ing  to  follow,  leads  him  out  of  hell  and  leads  him 
into  heaven,  and  nearer  and  nearer  to  Himself  in 
heaven      In  this  and  in  no  other  way  is  man  led 

"  l^ver    ^"'^  '"^'^"^'  ^^^^^^  -^-^^d  in  itself 
IS  slavery   because  it  is  from  hell,  and  is  led  into 

heavenly  freedom,  which  is  freedom  itself,  becom- 
ing  by  degrees  more  free,  and  at  length  most 
free,  because  it  is  from  the  Lord  who  vWlls  tha 
man  should  not  be  in  the  least  compelled.  This 
IS  the  wav  of  man  s  reformation,  but  this  way  is 
closed  by  miracles  and  visions. 

The  freedom  of  man's  spirit  is  proteded  from 
all  violation  to  the  end  also  that  his  evils,  both 
hereditary  and  acluai,  may  be  removed  ;  ank  this 
can  be  done  only  when  man  compels  himself,  as 
has  been  said  above.     These  evils  are  removed  by 

shLh""      ^  "'''?"'  ^^  '^^  ^ff"^^""  f«^  truth  in. 
spired   m    man   from  which   he   has   intelligence 
and  by  means  ol  affedion  of  good  through  which 
he  has  love.     So  far  as  a  man  is  in  these  afflc 


m  '.mm 


Ii6 


THE   DIVINE   PROVIDENCE. 


tions,  SO  far  he  compels  himself  lo  resist  evils  and 

falsities. 

And  this  way  of  reformation  is  closed  by  mira- 
cles and  visions,  for  they  persuade   and   compel 
belief,  and  thus  send   the   thoughts   bound   as   it 
were  to  prison  ;  and  when  freedom  has  thus  been 
taken  away  there  can  be  no  ability  from  withm  to 
remove  evils,  for  nothintj  of  evil  can  be  removed 
except  from  within.     Thus  evils  remain  shut  in, 
and  from  their  infernal  freedom,  which  they  love, 
they    continually    ad    against   those    truths    and 
goods  that  miracles  and  visions  have  forced  upon 
the  mind,  and  at  length  scatter  them,  making  mir- 
acles   to  be    regarded    as    interior   operations   of 
nature,  and  visions  as  illusions  of  the  imagination, 
and  truths  and  goods  as  fallacies  and  mockeries  ; 
for  such  is  the  action  of  the  evils  that  are  shut  in 
upon  the  externals  that  shut  them  in.     And  yet 
superficial  thought  may  lead  a  man  to  believe  that 
miracles  and  visions,  although  they  persuade,  do 
not   take   away   freedom   of    thinking;    but   with 
those  not  reformed  they  do  take  it  away,  while  with 
the  reformed  they  do  not  take  it  away,  for  with 
such  they  do  not  shut  evils  in,  but  with  those  not 
reformed  they  do.    {A.E.,  n.  ii55->  , 

All  who  wish  for  miracles  and  visions  are  like 

The  sons  ot  Israel,  who.  whrn  they  had  seen  so  many 
nrod  eies  in  Fevpt.  at  tin-  RJd  Sea  and  on  muunt 
gmaS  within  a  month  turned  away  rom  the 
worslup  ot  Jehovah  and  worshipped  a  golden  calt 
[Exod.  xxxii.). 


They  are  also  like 


THE   SIXTH    LAW. 


117 


The  rich  man  in  hell  who  said  to  Abraham  that  his 
brethren  would  re,>ent  if  one  from  the  dead  were 
sent  to  them  ;  to  whom  Abraham  replied.  "  Tiiev 
have  Moses  and  the  prophets,  let  them  hear  thera; 
'^\\U^  Ik  ""*  "otJMoses  and  the  prophets  neither 
will  they  be  persuaded  it  one  rose  trom  the  dead" 
(Luke  x\x.  2<)-2i).  ^^<*^, 

And  they  are  like 

Thomas,  who  said  that  he  xvould  not  believe  unless  he 
saw;  to  whom  the  Lord  said.  Blessed  are  those 
who  believe  and  do  not  see  {yo/in  xx.  25,  29). 

Those  who  believe  and  do  not  see  are  those  who 
do   not   desire  signs,  but   truths   from  the  Word, 
that  is,  Moses  and  the  prophets,  and  who  believe 
them.     Such  are  internal  men  and  become  spirit- 
ual ;  but  the  former  are  external  and  remain  sens- 
ual ;  and  when  such  see  miracles,  and  believe  only 
because  of  the  miracles,  they  are  not  unlike  in  their 
belief  a  charming  woman  who  has  a  fatal  inward 
disease  of  which  she  soon  dies,  or  they  are  like  an 
apple  with  a  fair  peel  but  rotten  at  the  core,  or  like 
filberts   in  which  a  worm  lies  concealed.     More- 
over, it  is  known  that  no  one  can  be  compelled  to 
love  or  to  believe,  and  that  love  and  faith  must  be 
inwardly  rooted  in  man.     Consequently  it  is   not 
possible  for  any  one  to  be  led  to  love  God  and  to 
believe  in  Him  by  means  of  miracles  and  visions, 
because  these  compel.     For  when  one  does  not  be- 
lieve from  the  miracles  in  the  Word,  how  can  he 

believe  from  miracles  that  are  not  in  the  Word? 

{A.E.,  n.  1156.) 


ii8 


THE   DIVINE   PROVIDENCE. 


VII. 


The  Seventh  Law  of  Divine  Providence. 

The  seventh  law  of  Divine  providence  is,  That 
man  is  let  into  the  truths  of  faith  and  into  the  goods 
of  love  by  the  Lord  only  so  far  as  he  can  be  kept  in 
them  until  the  end  of  life;  for  it  is  better  that  he 
should  continue  to  be  evil  than  that  he  should  be  good 
and  afterwauis  evil,  for  he  thus  becomes  profane. 
This  also  is  the  reason  that  evil  is  permitted. 

To  every  man  of   sound  reason  the  Lord  can 
give  affedion  for  truth  and   faith  therefrom  and 
affeclion   for  good   and   love   therefrom  by  with- 
holding him  from  evil  loves,  which  belong  to  his 
own  iproprium)  \  for  SO  far  as  man  is  withheld  from 
these  he  is  in  the  understanding  of  truth  and  m 
the  will  of   good.     I  have   seen    the  very  devils 
brought  back  to  such  a  state ;  and  while  they  were 
in  it  they  talked  about  truths  from  understanding 
and  faith,  and  did  good  from  will  and  love.     They 
were   brought   into   this   state   because    they   had 
denied  that  they  were  unable  to  understand  truths 
and  do  good.     So  as  soon  as  the  Lord  had  ceased 
to  withhold  them  from  their  own  loves,  and  they 
had  returned  into  the  lusts  of  their  loves,  in  place 
of  faith  in  truth  they  had  faith  in  falsity,  and  in 


THE    seventh    law. 


IIQ 


place  of  love  of  good  they  had  love  of  evil.  This 
has  often  been  witnessed,  and  in  the  presence  of 
many.  From  this  it  is  clear  that  every  one  is 
capable  of  being  reformed,  and  that  being  re- 
formed  is  nothing  else  than  being  removed  from 
evil  loves. 

How  man   is   removed  from   those  loves  has 
been  told  above.    The  Lord  does  not  thus  withhold 
man  from  evils   for  the  reason    that   those  who 
come  mto  an  affedion  for  truth  and  a  consequent 
faith,  and  into  an  affeclion  for  good  and  a  conse- 
quent love,  and  do  not  continue  in  these  affeclions 
to  the  end  of  life,  but  fall  back  into  the  loves  from 
which   they   had   abstained,  profane   holy   things 
There   are   many  kinds  of    profanation,  but   this 
kind  IS  the  most  grievous  of  all,  for  the  lot  of  such 
after  death  is  terrible.     They  are  not  in   hell  but 
beneath  hell ;    and  there  they  neither   think   nor 
wil,but  merely  see    and    ad.     They  see   things 
Umt  are  not,  and  do  not  see  the  things  that  are. 
They  aa  as  if  they  were  doing  everything,  and 
yet  they  do  nothing.     They  are   nothing  but  de- 
liriums of   fantasy.     And   as   they   neither  think 
nor  will,  they  are  no  longer  men,  for  the  human 
IS   thinking   and   willing.     Consequently  they  are 
not  spoken  of   in  the  masculine  or  feminine  but 
in   the  neuter  gender.     When  seen   in  any  heav- 
enly light  they  appear  like  skeletons  covered  over 
with  a  black  skin.     Such  is  the  condition  of  those 
that  have  been  reformed  and  do  not  remain  so. 

^^  hy  their  lot  is  so  horrible  shall  be  told.     By 
their  reformation  a  communication  is  established 


I20 


THE   DIVINE    PROVIDENCE. 


between  them    and   heaven,  whereby  goods   and 
truths  flow  in ;   and  by  these  the  interiors  of  their 
minds  are  opened,  and  evils  are   removed  to  the 
sides.     If    they  continue   in   this   state  till    death 
they  are  happy,  but  if  they  do  not  they  come  to 
be  unhappy,  for  the  evils  that  have  been  removed 
then  flow  back  and   mingle  with   the   truths  and 
goods;  thus  hell  is  so  mixed  with  heaven  in  them 
that  the  two  cannot  be  separated  ;  for  if  any  thing 
has  once  been  impressed  on  the  mind  of  man  by 
love  it  can  never  be  rooted  out  ;    smce,  therefore, 
after  death  the  goods  cannot  be  separated  from 
the  evils    nor   the    truths    from    the    falsities,  the 
mind  is  whoUv  overthrown,  and  such  spirits  no 
longer  have  anv  thought  or  will,  but  what  remains 
is  like  a  shell  when  the  kernel  is  removed,  or  like 
the  skin  with  the  skeleton  when  the  flesh  is  gone, 
for  this  is  all  that  is  left  of  the  man.     Let  it  be 
known,  therefore,  that  the  danger  is  not  m  pass- 
ing from  evil  to  good,  but  the  danger  is  in  passmg 
from  good  to  evil.    'A.E .  n  n^s. 

But  such  is  not  the  lot  of  those  who  are  per- 
manently evil.  All  who  are  permanently  evil  are 
in  hell  according  to  the  loves  of  their  life ;  and 
there  they  think  and  speak  from  thought,  although 
thev  speak  falsities,  and  they  will  and  from  will 
do,'although  they  do  evils.  Moreover,  to  one  an- 
other they  appear  like  men,  although  in  the  light 
of  heaven  they  have  monstrous  forms.  From  this 
it  can  be  seen  why  it  is  according  to  a  law  of  order 
relating  to  reformation,  which  is  called  a  law  of 
Divine  providence,  that  man  is  let  into  the  truths 


THE   SEVENTH   LAW.  jjl 

Of  faith  and  goods  of  love  only  so  far  as  he  can 
be  withheld  from  evils  and  held  in  goods  even  to 
the  end  of  life,  and  that  it  is  better  for  a  man  to 
be  permanently  evil  than  that  he  be  good  and 
afterwards  evil,  for  thus  he  becomes  profane 

It  is  for  this  reason  that  the  Lord,  who  provides 
all  things  and  foresees  all  things,  hides  the  opera- 
tions  of  His  providence,even  to  the  extent  that  man 
scarcely  knows  whether  there  be  any  providence 
whatever,  and  man  is  permitted  to  attribute  what 
he  does  to  prudence,  and  what  happens  to  him  to 
luck,  and  even  to  ascribe  many  things  to  nature 
rather  than  that  he  should,  through  conspicuous 
and  clear   indications  of    Divine  providence  and 
presence,  plunge   unseasonably  into  sanditics  in 
which  he  will  not  continue. 

Hw?nf  h'"^  ^^'''-  r""''"  "^^  ^^'"^^  bv  Other 
u  VJ'  P"'"''^'^^"^^'  "^"^^^y-  by  these,  that 
man  should  have  freedom,  and  that  he  should  do 
whatever  he  does  according  to  reason,  thus  wholly 
as  if  of  himself,  for  it  is  better  for  a  man  to  as- 
cribe the  workings  of  the  Divine  providence  to 
prudence  and  luck  than  to  acknowledge  them  and 
still  live  as  a  devil.  From  this  it  is  clear  that 
the  laws  of  permission,  which  are  many,  proceed 
Irom  the  laws  of  providence.    !yi.E.,n.  1159  ) 

The   kind   of  profanation   described  above  is 
meant  by  these  words  in  Matthew  : 

"  ^""^Z"!  \^^  ""^'^'7"  spirit  p:oeth  out  of  a  man   he  walk 

not.  Ihen  he  saith,  I  will  return  to  ♦he  h.,n«;l» 
whence  I  went  turth.  When  he  comHh  he  fiXth 
It  empty,  swept,  and  garnished.    Then  he  goeth 


fi 


122  THE   DIVINE    PROVIDENCE. 

awav,  and  takcth  t«i  himself  seven  other  spirits* 
worse  than  himself,  and  entering  in  thev  dwell 
there ;  and  the  latter  thinj^s  of  that  man  becumc 
worse  than  the  tirst"  (xii.  43-45  • 

This  describes  the  conversion  of  a  man  by  the 
departure  of  the  unclean  spirit  from  him  ;  and  his 
return  to  evils  and  the  consequent  profanation  is 
described  by  the  unclean  spirit's  returning  with 
seven  spirits  worse  than  himself.  Likewise  by 
these  w^ords  in  John  : 

Jesus  said  to  the  man  who  was  healed  at  the  pool  ot 
Bfthesda,  "  Bcht)ld  thou  art  made  whole,  sm  iu> 
more,  U-st  a  w..rsi'  thinv;  hctall  thee"  (v.  14,. 

Also  by  these  words  in  the  same, 

"  He  hath  blinded  their  evf.^  and  hardened  their  heart, 
lest  thev  should  see'  with  their  eves  ami  undet  - 
stand  with  their  heart,  and  should  tiirn  and  I  should 
heal  them"  (xii.  40;. 

"  Lest  they  should  turn  and  be  healed  "  signifies 
lest  they  should  become  profane.     Thus  would  it 
have  been  with  the  jews  ^Matt.  xii.  45) ;  and  this 
is  why  they  were  forbidden  to  eat  fat  and  blood 
{Lev.  iii.  17;  vii.  23,  25),  for  this  signified  their  pro- 
fanation of  what  is  holy  in  consequence  of  their 
being  such.     Moreover,  the  Lord   by  his  Divine 
providence  guards  with  the  greatest  care  against 
this  kind  of  profanation ;  and  to  this  end  He  sep- 
arates the  holy  things  in  man  from  those  that  are 
not  holy,  and  stores  up  the  holy  things  in  the  in- 
teriors of  his  mind,  and  raises  them  up  to  Him- 
self ;  while  the  things  not  holy  He  stores  up  in  the 
exteriors,  and  turns  them  to  the  world.     Thus  holy 


THE   SEVENTH    LAW.  123 

things  can  be  separated  from  the  unholy,  and  thus 

mfxedTc      .h"" K-    ^'"^  "'^"  ^'^''^'^  -d  -ils  are 
mixed  together  this  cannot  be  done.     That  those 

who  continue  m  faith  and  love  even  unto  death 

will  have  the  crown  of  life  the  Lord  teaches  in  the 

Apocalypse  {n,io,2(,),     A.E.,n...6o) 


I'. 


I 


124 


THE   DIVINE  PROVIDENCE. 


VIII. 

The  Eighth  Law  of  Divine  Providence. 

The  eighth  law  of  Divine  providence  is,  That 
the  Lord  is  unceasingly  withdrawing  man  from 
evils  so  far  as  ?tian  is  willing  from  freedom  to  be 
withdrawn;  that  so  far  as  man  can  be  withdra^vn 
from  evils  the  Lord  leads  him  to  good  and  thus  to 
heaven ;  but  so  far  as  man  cannot  be  withdrawn 
from  evils  the  Lord  cannot  lead  him  to  good  and  thus 
to  heaven  ;  for  so  far  as  man  has  been  withdrawn 
from  evils  so  far  he  does  good  from  the  Lord,  and 
that  good  is  good  in  itself ;  but  so  far  as  he  has  not 
been  withdraum  from  evils,  so  far  he  does  good  from 
himself,  and  that  good  has  evil  within  it. 

By  the  speech  of  his  lips  and  the  adlions  of  his 
body  man  is  in  the  natural  world  ;  but  by  the 
thoughts  of  his  understanding  and  the  affeclions 
of  his  will  he  is  in  the  spiritual  world.  By  the 
spiritual  world  heaven  and  hell  are  meant,  both  di- 
vided into  innumerable  societies,  according  to  all 
the  varieties  of  affedions  and  consequent  thoughts 
in  a  most  complete  order.  In  the  midst  of  these 
societies  is  man,  so  tied  to  them  as  not  to  have  the 
least  ability  to  think  or  will  except  in  connection 
with  them,  and  so  connected  that  if  he  were  to  be 


THE   EIGHTH    LAW.  ^^ 

"iiereby  he  is  a  mllTT  ^  ""'>'  '"  ^is  inmost, 
i'e  lives' to  «ern"v  m?"h  '  '"^''  ^"'^  -''^-by' 
regard  to  his  li  " lie  is  L"  T-  "°'  ''"°"  "'^  ■" 
ship.    This  he  docs  nn.  1  '"-^^P^^able  fellow. 

discourse  with  sp?ris  For":"';  '"'^"^^  ""^  "^^  "° 
knoun  nothins  about  th.,  ?"^  ^  """^  ^''^  "'^" 
should  remain  hidden  „rever  ?  '' ,  '"'  '"'  ""^ 
This  much  must  be  "a  d  bl^;:  th?' ^'^'"  ?^^^'^''- 
Provjdence  can  be  understood  ^^  °'  ^'^''"^ 
Man  is  from  birth  in  ,h.      a       f '  "  "'=•) 

ties,  and  extends  hteiin.o'the  °'  '■"''■^"=''  =°"^- 
extends  the  evil  affedi  '",''!"'  P'^'^'^'sely  as  he 
affec-lions  of  the  wm  a  17  ■.'"'  ""'•  ^M  evil 
'he  ivorld  ■  and  f^r   if  "'"  '°""^  "^  '^^^  and 

all  things  or,he  m  nH  T""  "'="  'hose  loves  turn 
that  is.  towards  hen  whicr^r^'^  ''"''  """'^^ds, 
of  themselves  thus  t  Jrn       '\''^"^^'h  and  outside 

I-ord  and  ..I'^iZZZl  "''"  '^"^^  ^-"^  ">« 

humT/S,  I'ntl  ^ThL"  t,f .  *■>  oi  the 

things  of  the  snir.f    .  ^^  interiors  of  all 

either  downtr:r:;w:r\°h?^'"^  '"™^'' 
downwards   when    m-in  T^       u-       •^'  '^^ '"'"''ed 

things;  andthevare/urnin  '  '"'"'"'^  ^"^"^  a" 
the  Lord  above"  ,r.hi™  tSL^'T  "?  '°^^^ 
"ig.     Man   from  him^.if  .  ^"  '"^^"^'  turn- 

while  the  Lord™  om  H^m.  ,7'  "'="'  downwards. 


126 


THE   DIVINE  PROVIDENCE. 


does  not  know ;  and  yet  he  ought  to  know  it  in 
order  that  he  may  understand  how  he  is  led  out  of 
hell  and  led  into  heaven  by  the  Lord.    {A.E..  n.  1163.) 

That  a  man  may  be  led  out  of  hell  and  led  into 
heaven  by  the  Lord,  he  must  himself  resist  hell,  that 
is,  evils,  as  if  from  himself.  If  he  does  not  resist 
as  if  from  himself,  he  remains  in  hell  and  hell  in 
him,  nor  is  he  separated  from  it  to  eternity.  This 
follows  from  the  laws  of  Divine  providence  that 
are  stated  above  and  that  have  been  explained. 
Moreover,  experience  will  teach  that  this  is  true. 
Evils  are  removed  from  man  either  by  punishments, 
or  by  temptations,  and  consequent  turning  away,  or 
by  affe(5lions  for  truth  and  good.  In  those  not  re- 
formed evils  are  removed  by  punishments  ;  in  those 
about  to  be  reformed  they  are  removed  by  tempta- 
tions and  consequent  turning  away  ;  and  in  the  re- 
generate by   affevflions   for  truth  and  good. 

The  experience  is  this  : — When  an  unreformed 
or  evil  person  endures  punishments,  as  takes  place 
in  hell,  he  is  kept  in  the  punishments  until  it  is  per- 
ceived that  of  himself  he  does  not  will  the  evils; 
not  until  then  is  he  set  free.  Thus  is  he  compelled 
of  himself  to  put  away  evils.  If  he  is  not  punished 
even  to  that  intention  and  will  he  continues  in  his 
evil.  Yet  even  then  the  evil  is  not  rooted  out,  be- 
cause he  has  not  compelled  himself.  The  evil  re- 
mains within,  and  returns  when  the  fear  ceases. 

In  those  about  to  be  reformed  evils  are  re- 
moved by  temptations,  which  are  not  punishments 
but  combats.  Such  persons  are  not  compelled  to 
resist  evils,  but  they  compel  themselves  and  pray 


THE   EIGHTH    LAW. 


127 


/rom  evils!  not  ulTlty  ilT^'ZZT  "'"'" 
from  an  aversion  to  evil  and  „,  1  ^^  -'"'  ''" 
sion  to  evil  is  their  rl  Ut'ce  BuTwith  fh'"" 
generate  there  are  no  t^mJ',-  ""  ""^  ^^- 

affections  for  truth  andToodrat"^^''"?'  ^" 
away  from  them  •    for  th  ^^^  ^^^^^  far 

from  hen.  „h.^h  is'r tLr;  :nyirT'' 
conjoined  to  the  Lord  '  "^"^  ^^« 

sam^thtn^rrbV:' r,T'  '"""  ^^"=  -  "-e 
infernal  societies  ThTTu  ^"^  '"""^"^  f^"™ 
arate  and  rer^ove  lom  f  ^V""  P""^"-'"  ==?- 
from  evils,  and  the  powet™a„:r '"'".'  "'^'  '' 
societies,  that  is,  to  goods  Inv  ^  u  '°  ^^^'''"^y 
but  such   a  chan«  r?„  ^    "'  "^  ""^y  «'ish  ; 

hours,  after  whTcrthTeX'r^:™""^  'h^  '  H 
quently  seen   this   done     fn^  ^^"^  '•^^- 

continued  evil  as  before'  ^n  ,1"'" u^^'  '"^  "» 
world  there  is  not  an  Tnst^n '"  '^  "''°''  ^P'^'^al 
been  removed  from  ev",  ^"^  °"='=  ''aving 

combat  or  resistance  Is  if  fr\°-'^^  ''''  "'^"  "^ 
one  doin.  this  e.^pt^;/ ^T^^  - -;n^. 

The^:ah?ra,r  r  iLT?rr  r '=  r"^"^- 

the  spiritual  world  is  known  //.       I     ""'^  '""> 
inability   to  resist   Ivils  alif   f™  *"[  """"^  " 

.htU^a-of^,;;!  V-^  "- -- 

-isthatmani^t:riet3j--- 


128 


THE  DIVINE   PROVIDENCE. 


himself,  but  only  from  the  Lord  ;  for  it  is  the 
Lord  who  resists  evils  in  man  and  gives  man  a 
feeling  and  perception  that  he  is  doing  it  from 
himself.  Therefore  those  in  the  world  who  have 
acknowledged  the  Lord,  and  have  acknowledged 
that  all  good  and  truth  are  from  Him,  and  that 
nothing  is  from  man,  and  thus  that  power  over 
evils  is  from  the  Lord,  and  not  from  themselves, 
such  resist  evils  as  if  from  themselves.  Rut  those 
who  have  not  acknowledged  all  this  in  the  world 
are  unable  to  resist  evils  as  if  from  themselves, 
for  such  are  in  evils  and  in  the  delight  of  evils 
from  love  ;  and  to  resist  the  delight  of  love  is  the 
same  as  resisting  themselves,  their  own  nature, 
and  their  own  life. 

An  experiment  was  made  whether  such  were 
able  to  resist  evils  when  the  punishments  of  hell 
were  described  to  them,  and  even  when  those 
punishments  were  seen  and  were  felt ;  but  it  was 
in  vain;  for  they  hardened  their  minds,  saying, 
Let  this  be  so,  and  let  it  come,  but  so  long  as  I 
am  here  let  me  be  in  the  pleasures  and  joys  of 
my  heart.  The  present  I  know;  what  is  to  come 
I  give  no  thought  to  ;  not  more  evil  will  come  to 
me  than  to  many  others.  Such  when  their  time  is 
fulfilled  are  cast  into  hell ;  and  there  they  are 
compelled  by  punishments  to  refrain  from  doing 
evil ;  but  punishments  do  not  take  away  the  will, 
intention,  and  consequent  thought  of  evil,  they 
merely  take  away  the  expression  of  it.  All  this 
makes  clear  that  the  power  to  resist  evils  is  not 
from  man,  but  is  from  the  Lord  in  those  who  ac- 


THE   EIGHTH    LAW.  ^ 

cause  :o  -Lt'tll^LT  ^t^oro/v''^- 
omnipotenrp   DiSriV.^  ^       •     .  *vorK  or  IJivme 

"pvjiciice,  iJivme  omnisc  enr**  o^^  r»-   • 
vidence.  ""science,  and  Divme  pro- 

the  hells     Fo    ever V  e^-^   -""''  ".""  '^'"  '°  ^^^'« 
ble  other  JLIUT^  -s  jcned  with  innumera- 

helIswith:a"hXr.t-  as*e"^-,r?"  '""^  ""^ 
the  hells,  and  as  the'  hel  s  ml  °"'  '°  ''° 

and  no  one  but  the  Lord  L  Thf '  °"'  '°  ''°  ""^• 
so  united.  ^'''^  '°  ■■"'='  'he  hells 

Lord  i:e\°:t:s  ;^:r  "'""'''''■""■ "— '"« 

-n  ™a.v  he  inwardlf:^  ra":ii:L.?cu7ed°"''  '"" 

about  it      ForhtL         "o  angel  knows  anything 
For  heaven  m  the  whole  complex'is  the 


I30 


THE   DIVINE   PROVIDENCE. 


Lord,  because  it  is  His  Divine  goin^  forth  ;  con- 
sequently when  He  is  working  through  heaven 
He  is  working  from  Himself.  It  is  said  medi- 
ately because  the  Divine  operation  flows  through 
the  heavens,  and  yet  it  takes  nothing  from  the 
own  of  any  angel  there,  but  only  from  what  is  its 
own  in  them.  The  appearance  is  the  same  as 
when  a  man  does  any  acl ;  to  produce  it  he  moves 
innumerable  motive  fibres  scattered  through  his 
whole  body,  but  of  this  acflion  no  single  fibre 
knows  anything.  Such  are  angels  in  the  Divine 
body,  which  is  called  heaven.    ia.E.,  n.  1166.) 

The  law  of  Divine  providence,  that  so  far  as  a 
man  can  be  withdrawn  from  evils  he  does  good 
from  the  Lord  that  is  good  in  itself,  but  so  far  as 
he  cannot  be  withdrawn  from  evils,  he  does  good 
from  himself,  and  such  good  has  evil  in  it,  may 
be  illustrated  by  the  commandments  of  the  deca- 
logue. 

Take  for  example,  the  commandment  not  to 
steal.  Those  who  resist  as  if  from  themselves  the 
desire  to  steal,  and  thus  the  greed  for  gaining 
wealth  dishonestly  and  unjustly,  saying  in  their 
hearts  that  this  must  not  be  done  because  it  is 
contrary  to  a  Divine  law,  thus  contrary  to  God, 
and  is  in  itself  infernal,  thus  in  itself  evil,  such 
after  some  brief  combats  are  withdrawn  from  that 
evil,  and  are  led  by  the  Lord  into  the  good  that 
is  called  integrity,  and  into  the  good  that  is  called 
justice  ;  and  then  they  begin  to  think  about  these 
goods,  and  to  look  upon  them  from  them,  to  look 
Upon   integrity  from  integrity,  and  upon  justice 


THE  Eighth  law.  j^^ 

goods,  an'd  do  then,  f  i:'  ota'd  „'o?7  '"^'^  ""^ 
P".sio„.     Such  goods  are  Zl'^Tor^Zl 

o^Kf;t„?he'^;e?d7oVr^'"-'-  ""'^ 

honestly  and  unjusuC^^^tr-annhent- 
cannot  ad  honestly  from  honesty  oTLtvL 
just.ce,  thus  not  from  the  Lord  h,,f  !I.    /   '^       " 

from  thf "    /°°''  '"'  "'■'  '"  "•  ^'"«  i«  quah  y  is 

S.;.%::rVori^  feTtLtstr"v"  -- 

become  good  in  i.seif  u^tVthe  IT^  Z^lTrt 
moved.  It  is  thesame  with  all  th-,,.K  ^^  "^^n  re- 
ments  of  the  decalogue      /i  „  '  °'^     """"""''- 

^o  rar  as  man  is  removed  from  evilc  h^  • 
moved  fro.  hell,  for  evils  and  he"  a  fone  "and 
so  far  as  he  ,s  removed  from  these  he  emers  in^^ 
goods  and   is   conjoined  with  heaven    (T        I 
and  heaven  are  one      M,n  ,1    "'^"'  ^°'^  goods 

becomes  an  angel  of  heaven.  '         ^^ 

yi\s  freedom,  which  before  had  hi-^n  -,  t      ^ 
to  think  and  will  evil  becomes  a  fr.?        '^^^°'" 
and  will  good,  which  in  i  seTf   s  es  :±^^      T'''' 
Until  a  man  is  in  this  freed n r^  h!  ^^^edom. 

What  freedom  is.  ^"^T:t: L^T: TJuZ 


JjlBMCMsmaf-i 


132 


THE  DIVINE   PROVIDENCE. 


felt  the  freedom  of  good  to  be  slavery,  but  now 
from  the  freedom  of  good  he  feels  the  freedom  of 
evil  to  be  slavery,  as  it  is  in  itself. 

The  good  that  man  had  before  done,  since  it 
was  from  the  freedom  of  evil,  could  not  be  good 
in  itself,  for  it  had  in  it  love  of  self  or  of  the 
world.  Good  can  have  no  other  origin  than  love ; 
therefore  such  as  the  love  is  such  is  the  good  , 
yet  even  when  the  love  is  evil  its  delight  is  felt 
as  good,  although  it  is  evil.  But  after  this  change 
the  good  that  man  does  is  good  in  itself,  because 
it  is  from  the  Lord  who  is  good  itself,  as  has  been 
said  above. 

The  mind  of  man,  before  it  was  conjoined  to 
heaven  was  turned  backwards,  because  it  had  not 
been  led  out  of  hell.  When  it  is  in  a  state  of 
reformation,  it  looks  from  truth  to  good,  thus  from 
left  to  right,  which  is  contrary  to  order.  But  when 
the  mind  has  been  conjoined  to  heaven  it  is  turned 
forwards  and  lifted  up  to  the  Lord,  and  looks  from 
right  to  left,  that  is,  from  good  to  truth,  which  is 
according  to  order.  Thus  a  turning  is  brought 
about. 

It  is  the  same  with  the  understanding  and  will, 
sincr  the  understanding  is  a  recipient  of  truth,  and 
the  will  a  recipient  of  good.  Before  man  has 
been  led  out  of  hell  the  understanding  and  will  do 
not  adl  as  one;  for  man  then  sees  and  acknow- 
ledges from  the  understanding  many  things  that 
he  does  not  will,  because  he  does  not  love  them. 
But  when  man  has  been  conjoined  to  heaven  the 
understanding  and  will  acl  as  one,  for  the  under- 


THE  EIGHTH    LAW.  J33 

for"wh?n  th'".  "''""^l'  ^'^  "'"'^  understanding, 
love  he  thinks.     A^uV^hV^^J:;;  ts^jl^^^^^^ 

truth  and  good  ;  and  then  everything  that  hV  t  n 

ihese  capacities  are  entirely  distin/v  r  I' 

°'her ;    but   they  were  created   ,n         ^  "'^'^ 

when  they  make  one  they  Ife  calTeH      °"'  -'f 
but  in  man  they  are  at  first^drj^e^'i^VarerS 

from  thf t  ligh"      Yet  ml  ■■  ''^'°"'''  '"'^  <^°"^'"des 

iight'"orh     ::;  t  -•'"-"^in,  sees  fror-the 

receptacle  orth'ali^l"  71'^  '"'   '"""''^  -"<» 
H    cie  01  that  hght,  and  thus  the  subjea  and 


134 


THE   DIVINE   PROVIDENCE. 


receptacle  of  truth  and  of  wisdom  therefrom.  And 
since  the  will  loves  from  the  heat  of  heaven,  it  is 
evidently  the  subjecfl  and  receptacle  of  that  heat, 
and  thus  the  subjedi  and  receptacle  of  good,  that  is, 
of  love.  From  all  this  it  can  be  clearly  seen  that 
these  two  capacities  of  man's  life  are  distincSt,  as 
light  and  heat  are,  also  as  truth  and  good  are,  and 
as  wisdom  and  love  are. 

That  these  two  capacities  are  at  first  divided  in 
man,  is  plainly  perceptible  from  the  facfl  that  man 
is  capable  of  understanding  truth,  and  good  from 
truth,  and  of  accepting  it  as  good,  even  though  he 
does  not  will  it  and  from  willing  do  it;  for  he  un- 
derstands what  is  true  and  thus  what  is  good  when 
he  hears  and  reads  about  it,  and  understands  so 
fully  as  to  be  able  afterwards  to  teach  it  by  preach- 
ing and  writing.  But  when  alone  and  thinking 
from  his  spirit  he  can  apprehend  that  he  docs  not 
will  the  truth,  and  even  that  he  wills  to  adt  contrary 
to  it,  and  does  ac5^  contrary  to  it  when  not  restrained 
by  fears.  Such  are  those  who  are  able  to  speak  in- 
telligently, and  yet  live  otherwise.  This  is  "  seeing 
one  law  in  the  spirit  and  another  in  the  flesh," 
*' spirit*'  meaning  the  understanding,  and  "flesh" 
the  will.  This  division  between  the  understanding 
and  the  will  is  perceived  especially  by  those  who 
wish  to  be  reformed,  and  but  little  by  others. 

This  division  is  possible  because  the  under- 
standing in  man  has  not  been  destroyed,  but  the 
will  has  been  destroyed.  For  the  understanding 
is  comparatively  like  the  light  of  the  world  by 
which  man  is  able  to  see  with  equal  clearness  in 


THE   EIGHTH   LAW.  ^ 

Which  may  L  absett  /  o^  \L  tht  °o'  T  ^°'"^ 
■n  the  light.  It  is  il«^n,  1  ^  '  '^  present 
present   in   the  1!.^^  ^  "'"'"  "^^°"  ^"d 

this,  that^o  hrnrex'm  tf  ^i  .^"  "^^  '^"^"^  '^ 
^ie.  standing  as  nofh     '^  "'"  '^""■"''^  ""e  un- 

destroys  the'  leZl.-  "'T  t^"  "'^^""«  «'  "eat 
derstandin?  if  des  "ov°rK°^  k"'  """•  ^he  un- 
are  in  evilf  of  llf '  T      I  ""^  "'"  '"  "'"^^  "h" 

-  When  the;U' tra^a"a^:r  rtZa:s  T' 

do  "tTa  as*"'^  "^'""^''^ '™'"  hu'Zeiuuhe"; 
he  rut  ^th^r"  ;:  r  ■"=  ?  "■"■  °">-'-  ^he^ 
his  wills  own  Iol=.r?'  """^  """^  ^«=  ^=ide 
"nderstand7nVrs  ra'is^H     "^'"  l""  '^  '''  ^'''^'  'he 

Thissha;^reXl"Ve.Sc':^h 

=sTj:fh''r;^eir::  '4-{-^  -  ijz: 

hardly  have  iz^Lz  7^  ''::,:i  r^f  -""1 

sequence  led    fn  h»i;  ^  ^ '  ^  ^^^  ^"  ^on- 

fr.r«  K  .  ^'  "°^  '"  ^^vor  of  truths  as  h^ 

It  has  J;^!  ""^'' ''"^  "°' '"  'hat  love 

man's  own"  7  "T'"  ^'■'^T'-  "^  '"  =<=^  '"'-  "hat  Is 

not  his  ^wn'trthi^'l '""h  •'"""^'^  ''°'"  "''=«  '^ 

heaven      \Vhat  i,        ^^^  ^^  '^"  '"  "'^  "fht  of 

VVhat  ,s  man  s  own  has  its  seat  within. 


136 


THE   DIVINE    PROVIDENCE. 


and  what  is  not  his  own  has  its  seat  without ;  and 
the  latter  veils  and  conceals  the  former,  and  the 
former  does  not  appear  until  this  veil  is  taken 
away,  as  takes  place  with  all  after  death.  I  have 
noticed  also  that  many  were  amazed  at  what  they 
saw  and  heard  ;  but  these  were  such  as  judge  of 
the  state  of  a  man's  soul  from  his  conversation  and 
writings,  and  not  also  from  his  acts  which  are  from 
his  own  will.  All  this  makes  clear  that  these  two 
capacities  of  life  in  man  are  at  first  divided. 

Something  shall  now  be  said  about  their  union. 
They  are  united  in  those  who  are  reformed,  which 
is  efifecled  by  combat  against  the  evils  of  the  will. 
When  these  evils  have  been  cast  aside  the  will  of 
good  acls  as  one  with  the  understanding  of  truth. 
From  this  it  follows  that  such  as  the  will  is  such 
is  the  understanding,  or,  what  is  the  same,  such 
as  the  love  is  such  is  the  wisdom.     The  wisdom 
is  such  as  the  love  is  because  the  love  belonging 
to  the  will  is  the  esse  of  man's  life,  and  the  wisdom 
belonging  to  the  understanding  is  the  existere  of 
life  therefrom  ;  therefore  the  love,  which  belongs 
to  the  will,  forms  itself  in  the  understanding,  and 
the  form  it  there  takes  on  is  what  is  called  wisdom  ; 
for  as  love  and  wisdom  have  one  essence  it  is  clear 
that  wisdom  is  the  form  of  love,  or  love  in  form. 
When  these  capacities  have  thus  been  united  by 
reformation  the  will's  love  increases  daily,  and  it 
increases  by  spiritual  nourishment  in  the  under- 
standing;   for  it  has  there  its  affection  for  truth 
and  good,  which  is  like  an  appetite  that  hungers 
and  desires.     From  all  this  it  is  clear  that  it  is  the 


THE   EIGHTH    LAW. 


137 


will  that  must  be  reformed,  and  as  it  is  reformed 
the  understanding  sees,  that  is,  grows  wise ;  for 
as  has  been  said,  the  will  has  been  destroyed  but 
the  understanding  has  not. 

The  will  and  the  understanding  also  make  one 
in  those  who  are  not  reformed,  that  is.  in  the  evil 
If  not  m  the  world  yet  after  death;  for  after  death 
man  is  not  permitted  to  think  from  his  understand- 
ing  except  in  accordance  with  the  love  of  his  will. 
To  this  every  one  is  finally  brought;  and  when 
he  is  brought  to  this  condition  the  evil  love  of  the 
will  has  its  own  form  in  the  understanding,  and  as 
this  form  IS  from  the  falsities  of  evil  it  is  insanity, 

(W./:.,  n.  1170.)  ^ 

Let  the  following  be  added  to  what  has  been 
said.  (I)  Before  reformation  the  light  of  the  un- 
derstanding ,s  like  the  light  of  the  moon,  clear  ac- 
cording to  the  knowledges  of  truth  and  good  •  but 
after  reformation  it  is  like  the  light  of  the  sun,  clear 
according  to  the  application  of  the  knowledges  of 
truth  and  good  to  the  uses  of  life. 

(2.)  The  understanding  has  not  been  destroyed 
to  the  end  that  man's  ability  to  know  truths/and 
from  truths  to  see  the  evils  of  his  will,  might  be 
preserved   and  seeing  them  he  might  resist  them 
as  if  from  himself,  and  thus  be  reformed. 

(3.)  And  yet  man  is  reformed  not  by  his  under- 
standing, but  by  means  of  the  recognition  of  truths 
by  the  understanding  and  its  seeing  evils  by  them  • 
for  the  operation  of  the  Lord's  Divine  providence 
IS  into  the  love  of  man's  will,  and  from  that  into 
the  understanding,  and  not  the  reverse. 


I3S 


THE  DIVINE   PROVIDENCE. 


(4.)  The  love  of  the  will  gives  intelligence  ac- 
cording to  its  quality.  Natural  love  from  spiritual 
love  gives  intelligence  in  civil  and  moral  matters  ; 
but  spiritual  love  in  natural  love  gives  intelligence 
in  spiritual  matters  ;  while  merely  natural  love  and 
the  conceit  that  comes  from  it  gives  no  intelligence 
in  spiritual  matters,  but  gives  an  ability  to  confirm 
whatever  it  pleases,  and  after  confirmation  so  infat- 
uates the  understanding  that  it  sees  falsity  as  truth, 
and  evil  as  good.  Nevertheless,  this  love  does  not 
take  away  the  ability  to  understand  truths  in  their 
light ;  when  it  is  present  it  takes  it  away,  but  not 
when  it  is  absent. 

(5.)  When  the  will  has  been  reformed,  and  the 
wisdom  belonging  to  the  understanding  has  come 
to  be  of  the  love  belonging  to  the  will,  that  is,  when 
wisdom  comes  to  be  a  love  of  truth  and  good  in  its 
form,  man  is  like  a  garden  in  springtime,  when 
heat  is  united  to  light  and  gives  a  soul  to  the  ger- 
minations. Spiritual  germinations  are  such  pro- 
dudlions  of  wisdom  from  love  ;  and  in  every  such 
produdlion  there  is  a  soul  from  that  love,  while 
its  clothing  is  from  wisdom  ;  thus  the  will  is  like  a 
father  and  the  understanding  like  a  mother. 

(6.)  Such  is  man's  life,  not  only  the  life  of  his 
mind  but  also  the  life  of  his  body,  since  the  life  of 
the  mind  a(fts  as  one  with  the  life  of  the  body  by 
correspondences.  For  the  life  of  the  will  or  love 
corresponds  to  the  life  of  the  heart,  and  the  life 
of  the  understanding  or  wisdom  corresponds  to 
the  life  of  the  lungs  ;  and  these  are  the  two  fount- 
ains of  the  life  of  the  body.     Man  does  not  know 


THE   EIGHTH    LAW.  13^ 

Who.  ,he  itirt^:vit:7,t:r,L'orMs"'''' 


I40 


THE   DIVINE    PROVIDENCE. 


IX. 


The  Ninth  I. aw  of  Divine  Providence. 

The  ninth  law  of  the  Divine  providence  is, 
That  the  Lord  does  not  teach  man  truths  either  from 
Himself  or  through  the  angels  immediately  :  but  He 
teaches  mediately  by  means  of  the  Word,  preaching, 
readin^^.  conversation,  and  communication  with  others, 
and  thus  bv  thought  ivithin  oneself  about  these  things. 
Man  is  thus  enlightened  in  the  measure  of  his 
affedlion  for  truth  from  use.  Otherwise  man  could 
not  aCl  as  if  from  himself. 

This  follows  as  a  consequence  from  the  laws 
of  the  Divine  providence  before  explained,  namely, 
that  man  must  be  in  freedom  and  do  what  he  does 
from  reason  ;  that  he  must  think  as  if  from  him- 
self from  his  understanding,  and  must  do  good  as 
if  from  himself  from  his  will  ;  also  that  he  must 
not  be  compelled  to  believe  anything  or  do  any- 
thing by  miracles  or  by  visions.  These  laws  are 
unchangeable,  because  they  are  laws  of  the  Divine 
wisdom  and  also  of  the  Divine  love  ;  and  yet  they 
would  be  disturbed  if  man  should  be  taught  im- 
mediately,  either  by  influx  or  by  speech. 

Moreover,  the  Lord  flows  into  the  interiors  of 


the  ninth  law. 


141 


man's  mind  and  through  these  into  its  exteriors 
also  .mo  the  affedion  of  his  will  and  through  that' 
:::;':  't"^^  ^'  ''^  understanding,  but  not  the 

InH  rhr"     ^  ^''  •"'''  '^^  '"'""^'■^  ^^  "^^"'s  mind 
and  through  these  mto  its  exteriors  is  to  take  root 

and  from  the  root  bring  forth  ;  for  the  root  is  in 
the  mt  3  ,„d  the  bringing  forth  in  the  exteriors  ; 
and  to  flow  mto  the  affection  of  the  will  and 
through  that  into  the  thought  of  the  understand- 
ing  ,s  first  to  inspire  a  soul,  and  through  that  to 
form  all  other  things ;  for  the  affedion  of  the  liH 
IS  like  a  soul  whereby  the  thoughts  of  the  under- 
standmg  are  formed. 

Furthermore,  this  is  influx  from  what  is  internal 
into  what  IS  external,  and  such  influx  is  possible 
Abou^  what  flows  into  the  interiors  of  his  mind 
or  about  what  flows  into  the  affedion  of  his  will' 
man  knows  nothing  ;  but  he  would  know  about  that' 
wh.ch  flowed  into  the  exteriors  of  his  mind,  or  nto 
the  thought  of  his  understanding,  and  thi;  would 
be  to  brmg  forth  something  without  a  root,  or  to 
form  somethmg  without   a   soul.     Evervone   can 
see  that  this  would  be  contrary  to  Divine  order 
consequently  that  it  would  be  to  destroy  and  not  to 
bu.ld  up.     By  all  this  the  truth  of  this  law  of  Div  ne 
providence  is  made  clear,    ^a.e.,  n.  ..,,  ) 

can  h!!'l  '^'  ^^'^  ^^^^  ^"  ^"^  "^^"  '«  thus  led 
can  be  known  from  no  other  source  than  the  spirit- 
ual world,  where  man  is  in  resped  to  his  spirit, 
that  IS.  m  respecf^  to  his  affedions  and  the  thoughts 
therefrom  for  these  constitute  man's  spirit;  and 
the  spirit  from  its  affedion,  and  not  the  body "s 


THE  DIVINE  PROVIDENCE. 
142 

«.l,.t  thinks  The  affeaions  of  man.  from  which 
Ire  Ms  thoughts,  have  extension  into  socet.es  m 
are  nis  mo  ^  jj^    ^to  more  or 

t X'  het  a  -,;;  to  Je  an.ount  and  .uaHty 
if  ,h.  aSn.  Man  in  respecl  to  h.s  sp,r,t  .s 
of  the  a"<:<:"°".  ^       j^em  he  is  attached 

ritVe'rtvtreTe'dTd  cords,  which  determine 
the  spice  where  he  can  walk.  As  he  passes  fron, 
one  affeaion  into  another,  so  he  pusses  from  one 
society  into  another,  and  the  society  he  .s  m,  and 

Fncrt;e%i^iiv^:dir:ho:.":= 

rhlrn^Ve"  si:  drcu.feren«s  .^^^^^^^^^ 

rcrnt-^ro^":---^^^ 

'"'Mrntquires  this  sphere,  which  is  the  sphere 
of  his  affea'ons  and  thoughts  there  rom.wh.l  he 
is  in  the  world,  from  hell  if  he  ,s  ev-l.  from  he.wen 
if  he  is  good.  Of  this  man  is  ignorant,  because 
he  does  not  know  that  such  things  exist. 

Through  these  societies  man,  that   is,   man  s 
mind,  although  bound  walks  free;  but  he  is  led 
by  the  Lord,  and  he  takes  no  step  into  which  and 
from  which  the  Lord  does  not  '"^ ;  and  yet  the 
Lord  grants  continually  that  man  shall  have  no 
other  thought  than  that  he  does  good  of  himself 
in  perfea  freedom;   and   he   is  permitted  to  be 
convinced  of  this  because  it  is  according  1°  *  law 
of  Divine  providence  that  man  shall  go  whither- 
soever his  affeaion  wills.     If  his  affeclion  is  ev, 
he  is  conveyed  through  infernal  societies ;  and  if 


THE   NINTH    LAW. 

he  does  no,  look  .0  the  Lord  he  is  brought  into 
these  societies  more  interiorly  and  deeph      And 
yet  the  Lord  leads  him  as    if   by  the  hand    oer 
muting  and  withholding  as  far  as  man's  wiuTng 

Lord  i°"  ',"    T""'"-     ''"'  '<  '"^"  '°oks   ,0  thf 
Lord  he  IS  led  forth  from  these  societies  gradu-illv 
according  to  the  order  and  connection  Tn  which 

kno'-rrut'th^f  T"",  ""'■  ^°""-'-"  -  °- 

bv  ron,        .        °"^  °"'y'  ^"'^  'hus  he  is  brought 

heavenTd     "T  ""'   °'  ■"="  "P"^'^'^^  '-vards 
neaven  and  into  heaven. 

it    h?.i'  '^^.'t°"^  <1°«  without  the  mans  knowing 
It,  because  if  man  knew  it   he  would  disturb  thf 

en^u""  or°'  "'  "'""r  ""'  '^'"'"^  "imself.     I    i 
enough  for  man  to  learn  truths  from  the  Word 

from'^r:"  ?'  '^"^  '°  "^""^  ""-'  ^-o'^  -.  -J 

noTde?th  ;\     ^°°'i'  '"""'"^"^  ^"'l  f-'s"i<^s  are, 
m  order  that  he  may  be  moved  by  truths  and  goods 

and  not  be  moved  by  falsities  and  evils.     Befwe  he' 
of'e^Us'a'nlrr'  """^  ""  '"'^^  ""^  ^  "^"^  -'J 
and  perc^Vth^r  •  ""  "^  '^  ""  ^"'^ '°  ^^  '"- 

to  ais:.  J^tr^h^a-n^g^oiTd  t:^?rr  ::c^ 

knowledges  the  Lord's  Divine  providence  iTeverv 
f:ZZ':;/"V'  ''  '°"''  "^  P-m-sio„accord hg 
no.  It!  ,°!J  '°'  ^''''  ^"<^  '^'="y  ^hen  man  doef 
not  acknowledge  such  a  providence.  So,  too  mi„ 
becomes  capable  of  receiving  intelligenceTor 
responding  to  affection;  and  thl  he  receives  so  fa" 


j^^  THE   DIVINE   PROVIDENCE. 

as  from  truths  he  fights  against  evils  as  if  of  him- 
self  This  must  be  revealed,  because  it  is  not  known 
that  Divine  providence  is  continual,  and  enters  into 
the  most  minute  things  of  man's  life,  and  because 
it  is  not  known  how  this  can  be.    {.I.E.,  n.  1174  ) 

All  this  having  been  premised  it  shall  now  be 
told  what  affection  is.  and  afterwards  why  man  is 
led  by  the  Lord  by  means  of  affections  and  not  by 
means  of  thoughts,  and  lastly  that  man  can  be 
saved  in  no  other  way. 

IV/uit  affcdion  z>.— The  same  is  meant  by  affec- 
tion as  by  love.    But  love  is  like  a  fountain  and 
affections  are  like  the  streams  therefrom,  thus  affec 
tions  are  continuations  of  love.     Love  as  a  fountam 
is  in  the  will  of  man  ;  affections,  which  are  streams 
from  it,  flow  by  continuity  into  the  understandmg. 
and  there  by   means   of   light  from  truths  bring 
forth  thoughts,  just  as  the  influences  of  heat  m  a 
garden  bring  forth  germinations  by  means  of  rays 
of  light.     Moreover,  love  in  its  origin  is  the  heat 
of  heaven,  and  truths  in  their  origin  are  the  rays 
of  light  of  heaven,  and  thoughts  are  germmations 
from  their  marriage.  ^ 

From  such  a  marriage  are  all  the  societies  of 
heaven,  which  are  innumerable,  and  in  their  essence 
these  are  affections ;  for  they  are  from  the  heat 
that  is  love  and  from  the  wisdom  that  is  light  from 
the  Lord  as  a  sun.  Therefore  these  societies,  as 
heat  in  them  is  united  to  light,  and  light  is  united 
to  heat,  are  affedions  for  good  and  truth.  From 
this  are  the  thoughts  of  all  in  these  societies.  This 
makes  clear  that  the  societies  of  heaven  are  not 


THE   NINTH    LAW. 


145 


thoughts  but  affections,  consequently  to  be  led  by 
means  of  these  societies  is  to  be  led  by  means  of 
affections,  that  is,  to  be  led  by  means  of  affections 
is  to  be  led  by  means  of  societies  ;  and  for  this 
reason  in  what  now  follows  the  term  affections  will 
be  used  in  place  of  societies. 

It  shall  now  be  told  why  man  is  led  by  the  Lord 

by  means  of  affections  and  not  by  means  of  thoughts. 

When  man  is  led  by  the  Lord  by  means  of  affec- 
tions he  can  be  led  according  to  all  the  laws  of 
His  Divine  providence,  but  not  if  he  should  be  led 
by  means  of  thoughts.  Affections  do  not  become 
evident  to  man,  but  thoughts  do  ;  also  affections 
bring  forth  thoughts,  but  thoughts  do  not  bring 
forth  affections  ;  there  is  an  appearance  that  they 
do,  but  it  is  a  fallacy.  And  when  affedions  brmg 
forth  thoughts  they  bring  forth  all  things  of  man. 
because  these  constitute  his  life. 

Moreover,  this  is  known  in  the  world.  If  you 
hold  man  by  his  affedion  you  hold  him  bound, 
and  lead  him  wherever  you  please,  and  a  single 
reason  is  then  stronger  than  a  thousand.  But  if 
you  do  not  hold  man  by  his  affection  reasons  are 
of  no  avail,  for  his  afifedion,  when  not  in  harmony 
with  them,  either  perverts  them  or  rejedls  them  or 
extinguishes  them.  It  would  be  the  same  if  the 
Lord  should  lead  man  by  means  of  thoughts  im- 
mediately, and  not  by  means  of  affedions. 

Again,  when  a  man  is  led  by  the  Lord  by 
means  of  affections,  it  seems  to  him  as  if  he 
thought  freely  as  if  of  himself,  and  spoke  freely 
and  acted  freely  as  if  of  himself.     And  this  is  why 


146 


THE   DIVINE    I'ROVIDENCE. 


the  Lord  does  not  teach  man  immediately,  but 
mediately  by  means  of  the  Word,  and  by  means  of 
doctrines  and  preachings  from  the  Word,  and  by 
means  of  conversations  and  intercourse  with  others ; 
for  from  these  things  man  thinks  freely  as  if  of  him- 
self. 

In  no  other  way  can  man  be  .vatvd?.— This  follows 
both  from  what  has  been  said  about  the  laws  of 
the  Divine  providence  and  also  from  this,  that 
thoughts  do  not  bring  forth  affections  in  man.  For 
if  man  knew  all  things  of  the  Word,  and  all  things 
of  doctrine,  even  to  the  arcana  of  wisdom  that  the 
angels  possess,  and  thought  and  spoke  about  them, 
so  long  as  his  affections  were  lusts  of  evil  he  could 
not  be  brought  out  of  hell  by  the  Lord.  Evidently 
then,  if  man  were  to  be  taught  from  heaven  by  an 
influx  into  his  thoughts  it  would  be  like  casting 
seed  upon  the  way,  or  into  water,  or  into  snow,  or 

into  fire.    {A.E..  n.  1175 

Because  the  Divine  providence  ads  upon  the 
afifeclions  that  belong  to  man's  love  and  thus  to  his 
will,  leading  him  in  and  from  his  affection  into 
another  that  is  near  and  related  to  it  by  means  of 
his  freedom,  and  so  imperceptibly  that  man  has  no 
knowledge  of  how  it  acts,  and  in  fact  hardly  knows 
that  there  is  a  Divine  providence, — for  this  reason 
many  deny  providence,  and  confirm  themselves 
against  it.  This  is  done  in  consequence  of  the  var- 
ious things  that  happen  and  arise,  as  that  the  arts 
and  schemes  of  thevvicked  are  successful,  that  im- 
piety prevails,  that  there  is  a  hell,  that  the  under- 
standing IS  blinded   to    spiritual  things,  and  that 


THE    NINTH    LAW. 


147 


this  gives  rise  to  so  many  heresies,  each  one  of 
which,  starting  from  a  single  head,  flows  out  into 
assemblies  and  nations  and  becomes  permanent 
like  popery,  Lutheranism,  Calvinism,  Melancthon* 
ism,  Moravianism.  Arianism,  Socinianism,  Quaker- 
ism.  Pietism,  and  even  Judaism,  and  with  these 
naturalism  and  atheism  ;  and  outside  of  Europe 
extending  through  many  kingdoms.  Mahometan- 
ism,  and  also  paganism,  in  which  are  various  kinds 
of  worship,  and  in  some  cases  no  worship  at  all 

All  who  do  not  think  on  these  subjects  from 
Divine  truth  say  in  their  heart  that  there  is  no 
Divine  proYidence  ;  and  those  who  are  perplexed 
about  It  assert  that  there  is  a  Divine  providence 
but  that  It  IS  only  universal.    When  either  of  these 
hear  that  there  is  a  Divine  providence  in  every  least 
particular  of  man's  life  they  either  give  no  heed  to 
It  or  do  give  heed  to  it ;   those  who  give  no  heed 
to  It,  casting  the  truth  behind  them  and  turning 
away,  and  those  who  do  give  heed  to   it  turning 
away  like  the  others,  and  yet  thev  turn  back  their 
faces,  merely  to  see  whether  there  is  anvthing  in 
It ;  and  when  they  see  they  say  to  themselves.  This 
is  mere  affirmation.     Some  of  these  latter  do  con- 
fess  the  truth  with  the  lips,  but  not  with  the  heart. 
Since,  then,  it  is  important  that  the  blindness  arising 
from  Ignorance,  or  the  thick  darkness  arising  from 
absence  of  light,  should   be  dissipated,  it  is  per- 
mitted to  see, 

(1.)    That  the  Lord  teaches  no  one  immediately, 
but  mediately  through  those  things  in 


148  THE   DIVINE   PROVIDENCE. 

man  that  are  from   the  hearing  and 

sight. 
(ii)   And  yet  the  Lord  provides  that  man  may 

be  reformed  and  savtd  by  those  things 

that  he  adopts  as  his  religion. 
(iii.)   And  for  every  nation  the  Lord  provides  a 

universal  means  of  salvation.    (A.E.,  n. 

1176., 

(i.)    That  the  Lord  teaches  no  one  immediately,  but 
mediately  through  those  things  in  man  that  are  from 
the  hearing  and  sight.— This  follows  from  what  has 
been  said  above  ;  to  which  it  must  be  added  that 
immediate  revelation  cannot   be  granted   to  man 
except  that  which  has  been  given  in  the  Word  such 
as  it  is  in  the  prophecies  and  gospels  and  histories ; 
which  is  such  that  every  one  may  be  taught  accord- 
ing to  the  affections  of  his  love  and  the  consequent 
thoughts  of  his  understanding,  those  who  are  not 
in  good  of  life  receiving  very  little,  but  those  who 
are  in  good  of  life  receiving  much,  for  these  are 
taught  through  enlightenment  by  the  Lord. 

The  enlightenment  is  as  follows -.—Light  con- 
joined with  heat  flows  in  through  heaven  from  the 
Lord.  This  heat,  which  is  Divine  love,  affeds  the 
will  from  which  man  has  afifeaion  for  good  ;  and 
this  light,  which  is  Divine  wisdom,  affecls  the  un- 
derstanding from  which  man  has  a  conception  of 
truth.  From  these  two  fountains,  which  are  the 
will  and  understanding,  all  things  of  man's  love 
and  all  things  of  his  knowledge  are  affe^ed  ;  but 
only  those  things  that  pertain  to  the  subject  are 
called  up  and  presented  to  view.     In  this  way  is 


THE   NINTH    LAW. 


149 


enlightenment  effected  by  the  T  nr.^  u 

the  Word,  in  which  everv^hinl  f/ot  /h  ""''"'  °^ 
that  iQ  I'o  \t  ^  .  ^  '"'"g:.  irom  the  spir  tual 

and     iffht  from    fh*.    r»-   •  °^  ^"^  ^eat 

things  live?  °'"""   '""   ^■■°'"  '^"'^h   ail 

is  l''^  «"|'eh"=ned  by  the  Lord  through  heaven 
IS  to  be  enhglitened  by  the  Holy  Spirit  for  , he 
Holy  Sp,nt  ,s  the  Divine  that  goes  forth  frori  he 
Lord  as  a  sun.  from  which  is  heaven.     FrortWs 

^  yji   nis  will  that  comes  from  h\c  1,/^ 

e"  Vainrtr  "  '"^  "«*"  °^  "'=  -^ert nd!"  ^  that 
ne  gains  by  means  of  Icnowledge  •  and  ih-if  ,Cl 

d.vide"d  int  ch:rcLf  ''!;•'"";;  ""^■■°"  "-  ''-" 

and   in   pttifur:T.hTn^r  ctXs  ""  feT' 
can  those  who  are  outside  th/ph    T  ^"^^'' 

Who  d  .e  the^ot  ;t  "ia^r  mry'tr 

p  hrve'"-  ZT^^  - -t  t ''- 

from  the  Word      Tu^     1  wnicn  is  in  part 

Word.     The  religion  of  the  Mahometans 


I50 


THE   DIVINE    rROVIDENCE. 


was  in  some  respects  taken  from  the  Word  of 
both  Testaments.  Others  have  a  religion  derived 
from  the  ancient  Word  that  was  afterwards  lost. 
With  some  it  was  from  the  Ancient  Church  that 
extended  over  a  great  part  of  the  continent  of  Asia, 
and  like  our  church  at  the  present  day  was  divided 
into  many,  all  of  them  having  that  ancient  Word. 
From  these  the  religions  of  many  nati«)ns  were 
derived,  although  in  process  of  time  these  became 
in  many  cases  more  or  less  idolatrous. 

Those  whose  worship  is  from  that  origin  are 
taught  by  the  Lord  mediately  by  means  of  their 
religion,  the  same  as  Christians  are  by  the  Word  ; 
and  this  is  done,  as  has  been  said,  by  the  Lord 
through  heaven,  and  thus  by  a  stirring  up  of  their 
will  and  also  of  their  understanding.  But  enlight- 
enment by  means  of  those  religions  is  not  like 
enlightenment  by  means  of  the  Word.  It  is  like 
enlightenment  at  evening  when  the  moon  is  shin- 
ing more  or  less  brightly,  while  enlightenment 
by  means  of  the  Word  is  like  enlightenment  in  the 
daytime  from  morning  to  noon,  when  the  sun  is 
shining  more  or  less  brightly.  Thus  it  is  that  the 
Lord's  church  which,  in  respecl  to  its  light,  which 
is  Divine  wisdom,  extends  through  the  entire 
globe,  is  like  the  day  from  noon  to  evening,  and 
even  to  night ;  while  in  respect  to  its  heat,  which 
is  Divine  love,  it  is  like  the  year  from  spring  to 
autumn,  and  even  to  winter.    .A.E.n.  1177) 

(ii.)  And  yet  the  Lord  providi'S  that  vian  may  be 
reformed  and  saved  by  those  thins^s  that  he  adopts  as 
his  religion. — In  the  entire  globj  where  there  is  any 


THE    .NINTH    LAW. 


151 


religion,  smce  there  must  be  conjundion,  there  are 
two  that  constitute  it.  namely,  God  and  man  ;  and 
there  are  two  things  that  constitute  conjun^ion 
namely  good  of  love  and  truth  of  faith  ;   good  of 
ove  IS  from  the  Lord  immediately,  truth  of  faith 
IS  also  from  God,  but  mediately.     Good  of  love    s 
hat  through  which  God  leads  man.  and  truth  o 
faith  IS  that  through  which  man  is  led.     This  is  the 
same  as  what  has  been  said  above.     Truth  of   a  th 
appears  to  man  to  be  his  own,  because  it  is  from 
those    hings  that  he  acquires  as  ii  from  himself. 
Therefore  God  conjoins  Himself  to  man  through 
good  of  love,  and  man  conjoins  himself  to  God 
as  If  of  himself  through  truth  of  faith. 

Because  the  conjunction  is  such  the  Lord  com 
pares  Himself  to  a  bridegroom  and  husband,  a^d 
the  church  to  a  bride  and  wife.  The  Lord  flows 
m  continually  with  complete  good  of  love,  but  He 
cannot  be  conjoined  to  man  in  complete  truth  of 
faith,  but  only  ,n  that  which  is  in  man,  and  this 
vanes  ;  it  can  be  given  in  greater  fulness  with  those 

with    ho    "  r,-'"'  ^""'^  ''^  ^"^  -  ^-^  ^"'"ess 
with  those  who  live  where  there  is  no  Word  :  and 

yet  the  fulness  varies   in    both    in  proportion   to 

their  knowledge   and    their   life   according   to     t 

and  consequently  it  may  be  greater  in  those  who 

have  not  the  VVV>rd  than  in  those  who  have  it. 

The  conjuncflion  of  God  with  man  and  of  man 

w  th  God  IS  taught   in   the  two  tables  that  were 

written  with  the  finger  of  God.  and  called  "tab!es 

of  the  covenant,'  "of  the  testimony."  and  ''of  the 

law.       In  one  table  is  God,  in  the  other  man.    All 


,-2  THE   DIVINE  PROVIDENCE. 

nations  that  have  any  religion  have  these  tables; 
?rom  the  first  table  they  know  that  God  must  be 
acknowledged,  regarded  as  holy   and  worshipped  ; 
from  the  other  table  they  know  that  they  must  not 
steal   either  openly  or  secretly  by  crafty  devices  ; 
hat  they   must   not   commit  adultery     that  they 
^^^st  not  kill,  either  by  the  hand  or  ^y  hatred    t  at 
thev  must  not  bear  false  witness  in  a  court  of  justice 
or  before  the  world  ;  and  also  that  they  must  not 
desire  these  things.   From  his  table  man  knovvs  the 
evils  that  must  be  shunned,  and  just  so  far  as  he 
knows  them  and  shuns  them  as  if  from  himself, 
God  conjoins  him  to  Himself  and  enables  him  from 
His  table  to  acknowledge  Him,  to  regard  Him  as 
holy,  and  to  worship  Him,  and  also  enable    h  m 
not  to  will  evils,  and  so  far  as  he  does  not  will 
evils  to  know  truths  in  abundance. 

Thus  these  two  tables  are  conjoined  in  man 
and  God's  table  is  placed  above  man  s  table,  and 
they  are  put  as  one  table  into  the  ark,  over  wh.ch 
Is  the  mercy-seat,  which  is  the  Lord,  and  over  the 
mercy.seat  the  two  cherubim  which  are  the  \\  ord 
and  what  is  from  the  Word,  in  which  the  Lord 
speaks  with  man  as  He  spoke  with  Moses  and 
Aaron  between  the  cherubim.  ,    ,      i      ^ 

Since,  then,  there  is  conjundion  of  the  Lord 
with  man  and  of  man  with  the  Lord  by  these 
means,  evidently  every  one  who  knows  them  and 
lives  according  to  them,  not  merely  on  the  ground 
of  civil  and  moral  law  but  also  of  Divine  law,  will 
be  saved  ;  thus  every  one  in  his  own  religion 
whether  Christian  or  Mahometan  or  pagan.     And 


THE   NINTH    LAW. 


153 


What  is  more,  a  man  who  from  religion  lives  these 
truths,  even  if  in  the  world  he  knows  nothing  about 
the  Lord,  nor  anything  else  from  the  Word,  yet  he 
IS  in  such  a  state  in  resped  to  his  spirit  that  he 
wishes  to  become  wise  ;  consequently  after  death 
he  is  instruded  by  the  angels  and  acknowledges 
the  Lord  and  receives  truths  according  to  his  affec- 
tion and  becomes  an  angel. 

Every  such  person  is  like  a  man  who  dies  an 
infant,  for  he  is  led  by  the  Lord  and  is  educated 
by  the  angels.      Those   who  from  ignorance  and 
from  having  been  born  in  such  a  place  have  known 
nothing  of  worship,  are  after  death  instruded  like 
little  children,  and   according   to   their   civil  and 
moral  life  receive  the  means  of  salvation.     I  have 
seen   such,  and  at  first  they  did  not  appear  like 
men  ;    but   afterwards    I   saw   them   as  men,  and 
heard  them  speaking  sanely  from  the  command- 
ments  of  the  decalogue.     To  instrucfl  such  is  the 
inmost  angelic  joy.     From  all  this  it  is  now  clear 
that  the  Lord  provides  for  the  possible  salvation  of 
every  man.    {a.k,  n.  1179.) 

(iii.)   For  every  nation  the  Lord  provides  a  uni^ 
versal  means  of  salvation.—Yxom  what   has  been 
said  above  it  is  clear  that  in  whatever  religion  a 
man  may  live  he  can  be  saved ;  for  he  knows  the 
evils  and   the  falsities  from   evils    that  must  be 
shunned,  and  having  shunned  them  he  knows  the 
goods  that  must  be  done  and  the  truths  that  must 
be  believed.     The  goods  he  does  and  the  truths  he 
believes  before  he  has  shunned  evils   are  not  in 
themselves  goods  and  truths,  because  they  are  from 


154 


THE   DIVINE    PROVIDENCE. 


man  and  not  from  the  Lord.  Before  that  they  are 
not  goods  and  truths  in  themselves  because  in  the 
man  thev  then  have  no  life.  A  man  who  knows  all 
goods  and  all  truths,  as  many  as  can  be  known,  but 
does  not  shun  evils,  knows  nothini^.  His  goods 
and  truths  are  swallowed  up  or  cast  out  by  the 
evils,  so  that  he  becomes  foolish,  not  in  the  world 
but  afterwards  ;  while  the  man  who  knows  few 
goods  and  few  truths,  but  shuns  evils,  knows  those 
goods  and  truths  and  learns  many  more  and  be- 
comes wise,  if  not  in  the  world  yet  afterwards. 
Since,  then,  every  one  in  every  religion  knows  the 
evils  and  falsities  from  evils  that  mw^t  be  shunned, 
and  having  shunned  them  knows  the  goods  that 
must  be  done  and  the  truths  that  must  be  believed, 
it  is  clear  that  this  is  provided  by  the  Lord  as  a 
universal  means  of  salvation  with  every  nation  that 
has  any  religion. 

With  Christians  this  means  exists  in  all  ful- 
ness ;  it  also  exists,  though  not  in  fulness,  with 
Mahometans  and  pagans.  The  remaining  things, 
by  which  they  are  distinguished,  are  either  ceremo- 
nials, which  are  of  little  consequence,  or  are  goods 
that  may  be  done  or  not  done,  or  truths  that  may 
be  believed  or  not  believed  and  yet  man  be  saved. 
What  these  things  amount  to  man  can  see  when 
evils  are  removed.  A  Christian  sees  this  from  the 
Word,  a  Mahometan  from  the  Koran,  and  a  pagan 
from  his  religion.  A  Christian  sees  from  the  Word 
that  God  is  one,  that  the  Lord  is  the  Saviour  of  the 
world,  that  all  good  that  is  good  in  itself,  and  all 
truth  that  is  true  in  itself,  is  from  God,  and  nothing 


THE   .NINTH    LAW. 


155 


of  It  from  man  ;  that  there  must  be  Baptism  and 
the  Holy  Supper,  that  there  is  a  heaven  and  that 
there  is  a  hell,  that  there  is  a  life  after  dcrth,  and 
that  he  who  does  good  comes  into  heaven,  and 
he  who  does  evil  into  hell.  These  things  he  be- 
lieves from  truth  and  does  from  good  when  he  is 
not  m  evil.  Other  things  that  are  not  in  accord 
with  these  and  with  the  decalogue  he  may  pass 

A  .Mahometan  sees  from  the  Koran  that  God 
IS  one,  that  the  Lord  is  the  Son  of  God,  that  all 
good  IS  from  God,  that  there  is  a  heaven  and 
that  there  is  a  hell,  that  there  is  a  life  after 
death,  and  that  the  evils  forbidden  in  the  com- 
mandments  of  the  decalogue  must  be  shunned 
If  he  does  these  latter  things  he  also  believes  the 
former  and  is  saved. 

A  pagan  sees  from  his  religion  that  there  is  a 
God.  that  He  must   be  regarded  as  holy  and  be 
worshipped,  that  good  is  from  Him,  that  there  is  a 
heaven  and  that  there  is  a  hell,  that  there  is  a  life 
after  death,  that  the  evils  forbidden  in  the  deca- 
logue must  be  shunned.     If  he  does  these  things 
and   believes  them   he   is   saved.     And   as   many 
pagans  perceive  God  to  be  a  man,  and  as  God- 
Man  IS   the  Lord,  so   after  death  when  they  are 
instructed  by  angels  thev  acknowledge  the  Lord 
and  afterwards  receive  truths  from  the  Lord  that 
they  had  not  before  known.     Thev  are  not  con- 
demned  because  of  their  not  having  the  ordinances 
of  Baptism  and  the  Holy  Supper  ;  the  Holy  Supper 
and  Baptism  are  for  those  only  who  are  in  posses- 


^^l^C^UBjO^^^ 


156 


THE   DIVINE  PROVIDEN'CE. 


THE  NINTH    LAW. 


sion  of  the  Word,  and  to  whom  the  Lord  is  known 
from  the  Word ;  for  they  are  symbols  of  that  church, 
and  are  attestations  and  certifications  that  those  who 
believe  and  live  according  to  the  Lord's  command- 
ments in  the  Word  are  saved.    {A.E.,  n.  1180.) 

Something  shall  now  be  said  about  the  speech 
of  spirits  with  man.     Many  believe  that  man  can 
be  taught  by  the  Lord  by  means  of  spirits  speak- 
ing with  him ;  but  those  who  believe  this  and  are 
willing  to  believe  it  do  not  know  that  it  is  attended 
with  danger  to  their  souls.     So  long  as  man  is  liv- 
ing in  the  world  he  is,  in  resped  to  his  spirit,  in 
the  midst  of  spirits,  although  spirits  do  not  know 
that  they  are  with  man,  nor  does  man  know  that 
he   is   with   spirits ;    and   for  the    reason    that   in 
respedl  to  the  affedions  of  the  will  they  are  imme- 
diately conjoined,  while  in  respe(5l  to  the  thoughts 
of  the  understanding  they  are  mediately  conjoined. 
For  man  thinks  naturally,  but  spirits  think  spirit- 
ually ;    and   natural   and   spiritual   thought  make 
one  only  by  correspondences  ;  and  in  a  oneness  by 
correspondences  neither   one    of   the  two  knows 
anything  about  the  other.     But  as  soon  as  spirits 
begin  to  speak  with  man  they  come  out  of  their 
spiritual  stale  into  man's  natural  state,  and  they 
then  know  that  they  are  with  man  and  they  conjoin 
themselves  with  the  thoughts  of  his  affection  and 
speak  with  him  from  those  thoughts.     They  can 
enter  into  no   other   state   of   man,  for   all   con- 
jundion  is   by  like  affedion  and  thought  there- 
from, while  unlike  separates. 

For  this  reason  the  speaking  spirit  must  be  in 


157 


bt't^Tor^L?^''  ";''  "^"  ^^'  "^^^h-  they 
he  strongly  confirms  ihem.     This  makes  ct.rL? 

with  speeT  Tr,'        """":"''  °P"^"°"  ^°i""des 

lans.  and  other  heretics.  '       '''"" 

.  All  spirits  that  speak  with  man  were  once  men 
in  the  world,  and  were  then  of  like  charal" 
This  has  been  granted  me  m  L^r,^  I  cna raster, 
experience      A.  i      if  ^"°'''  ^^  repeated 

Pietistic  spiHts.  JJ'Z  2t\rZ^Jf„ 
Which  a  man  is  who  sneak.;  wwk  '"^.^^"S^e^  m 
-anifesfy  perceives  Tetop^^T'^^i::  l^ 
not  know  what  his  affeaion  is'  whether  it  be  S 
or  ev.l.  or  wuh  what  others  i,  is  conjoined -^and 
i'hin'ym  f       """'  °'  self-intelligence  the  'spirU 

Tnd  th^T  '^"y  """"Sh'  f™-"  that  source 

and  the   same   is   true   when  one   favors  certain 
pnncples  enkindled   by  such   a   fire   w    h   tho  " 

The  Python.sts  formerly  were  of  this  charX; 


tta(iaijSsifedM&a^.i^ Jb.t;-  ^ 


158 


THE    DIVINE   PROVIDENCE. 


also  the  wise  men  in  Egypt  and  in  Babylon,  who 
were  called  wise  because  they  talked  with  spirits, 
and  because  they  clearly  perceived  the  operation 
of  spirits  in  themselves.  But  by  this  the  worship 
of  God  was  changed  into  the  worship  of  de- 
mons, and  the  church  perished.  For  this  reason 
such  intercourse  was  forbidden  to  the  sons  of 
Israel  under  penalty  of  death.     ./.£".,  n.  1182.^ 

It  is  otherwise  with  those  whom  the  Lord  leads. 
He  leads  those  who  love  truths,  and  who  will  them 
from  Himself.     Such  are   enlightened  when  they 
read  the  Word;   for  the  Lord  is  in  the  Word,  and 
speaks  with  every  one  according  to  his  apprehen- 
sion.   When  such  hear  the  speech   of   spirits,  as 
they  sometimes  do.  they  are  not  taught  but  led, 
and  this  with  such  precaution  that  the  man  is  left 
to  himself ;   for  every  man,  as  has  been  said  be- 
fore, is  led  by  the  Lord  by  means  of  affeclions  ;  and 
from  these  he  thinks  as  if  from  himself  in  freedom  ; 
if  this  were  not   so  man  would  be  incapable  of 
reformation,  nor  could    he    be  enlightened.     But 
men   are    enlightened   variously,  each   according 
to  the    quality   of   his    affeclion    and    consequent 
intelligence.     Those  who  are  in  a  spiritual  affec- 
tion for  truth  are  raised  up  into  the  light  of  heaven, 
even   so  as  to  be  able  to  perceive  the  enlighten- 
ment. 

This  it  has  been  given  me  to  see,  and  from 
it  to  perceive  clearly  what  comes  from  the  Lord 
and  what  from  angels.  What  has  come  from  the 
Lord  has  been  written  ;  what  has  come  from  the 
angels  has  not.    Moreover,  it  has  been  granted  me 


THE   NINTH    LAW. 


159 


o  talk  wuh  angels  as  man  with  man,  also  to  see 

he  t\Tt^,'r:::  ^'^  ^^^^-^"^  -^  ^^at  ire    „ 
presen    church  h'  '"''""  ^'^^  ^^^  ^"^  -'  ^^e 

X'  ^trb^e^red ;-  :herrd  t  r  ^'  ^r 

those  who  have  been  led  t  self  in  h  u^T^  ^"' 
Word  is  the  Divine  itself  of  \h  el  ,  'u'^^'  '^^ 
also  that  the  la.r  ,',  i  ^""'"^  °"  ^^^  ^^''^h  ; 


i6o 


THE  DIVINE   PROVIDENCE. 


'', 


THE  TENTH  LAW   OF   DIVINE   PROVIDENCE. 

The  tenth  law  of  the  Divine  providence  is. 
That  when  man  is  led  astray  by  eminence  and  r.ches 
he  has  led  himself  to  them  by  his  own  prudence  for 
Z  Di..ne  providence  man  is  led  only  '--f  '^^ 
as  do  not  Uad  astray  and  as  are  serviceable  to  eternal 
life;  for  all  things  of  Divine  providence  wUh  man 
look  to  what  is  eternal,  since  the  life  which  is  God. 
from  which  man  is  man.  ts  eternal  life. 

There  are  two  things  that  especially  influence 
the  minds  of  men,  eminence  and  riches ;  eminence 
relates  to  the  love  of  glory  and  of  honors,  riches 
to   the   love   of   money   and  possessions.    These 
especially  influence  men's  minds  because  they  be- 
long  to  the  natural  man  ;  consequently  those  who 
are  merely  natural  have  no  other  idea  than  that 
er^inence  and  riches  are  real  blessings  that  are 
from  God,  when  in  faa  they  may  be  curses,  as 
may  be  clearly  inferred  from  this,  that  they  are  the 
portion  both   of   good  men  and  of  evil  men.     I 
have  seen  the  eminent  and  the  rich  in  the  heavens 
and  1  have  seen  them  in  the  hells ;   «h"efore.  as 
has  been  said,  when  eminence  and  riches  do  not 
lead  astray  they  are  from  God.  but  when  they  do 
they  are  from  hell. 


THE   TENTH    LAW. 


I6l 


fhJV  T  ?^"  ^""^^  "°'  distinguish  between 
the  r  being  from  God  or  from  hell,  because  the  nat- 
ural man  separated  from  the  spiritual  cannot  per. 
ceive  this  distinaion;  but  the  distindion  can  be 
seen  ,n  the  natural  man  that  is  from  the  spiritual 

ta^uirr^'"  'f '"^^^'  '^^""^^  ^^^  natural  man  is 
^ught  from  mfancy  to  counterfeit  the  spiritual 
man  :  and  m  consequence  when  he  performs  uses 
to  the  church,  to  the  country,  to  society  and  his 
fellow  citizens,  thus  to  the  neighbor,  he  not  only 
professes  but  also  is  able  to  persuade  himself  that 
he  has  done  it  for  the  sake  of  the  church  the 
country,  society,  and  his  fellow  citizens  ;  and  yet  he 
may  have  done  it  for  the  sake  of  self  and  the  world 
as  ends. 

Man  is  in  such  blindness  because  he  has  not 
put  away  evils  from  himself  by  any  combat  •  for 
so  long  as  evils  remain  man  can  see  nothing  from 
the  spiritual  in  his  natural ;    he   is  like  one  in  a 
dream  who  believes  himself  to  be  awake,  or  like  a 
bird  of   night  that  takes  the  darkness  for  light 
Such  ,s  the  natural  man  when  the  gate  of  heavenly 
light  IS  closed.     Heavenly  light  is  the  spiritual  that 
enlightens  the  natural  man.     Since,  then,  it  is  of 
the  greatest  importance  to  know  whether  eminence 
and  riches  that  is.  the  love  of  glory  and  honor,  and 
the  love  of  money  and  of  possessions,  are  ends  or 
are  means,  ends  and  means  shall  first  be  defined 
for  if  these  are  ends  they  are  curses,  but  if  they  are 
not  ends,  but  means,  they  are  blessings.    (w.^.,n. 

End.  mediate  causes,  and  effe(fl,  are  called  also 


l62 


THE   DIVINE   PROVIDENCE. 


the  chief  end,  intermediate  ends,  and  the  final  end. 
Intermediate  and  final  ends   are  called  ends,  be- 
cause the  chief  end  produces  them,  is  everythmg 
in  them,  is  their  esse  and  is  their  soul.     The  chief 
end  is  the  will's  love  in  man,  the  intermediate  ends 
are  subordinate  loves,  and  the  final  end  is  the  love 
of  the  will  standing  forth  as  it  were  in  its  effigy. 
As  the  chief  end  is  the  love  of  the  will  it  follows 
that  intermediate  ends,  being  subordinate  loves,  are 
foreseen,  provided,  and  brought  forth  through  the 
understanding,  and  that  the  final  end  is  the  use 
foreseen,  provided,  and  brought  forth  by  the  love 
of  the  will  through  the  understanding,  for  every 
thing  that  love  brings  forth  is  a  use.    This  must  be 
premised  in  order  that  what  has  just  been  said  may 
be   perceived,  namely,   that  eminence  and   riches 
may  be  blessings  or  that  they  may  be  curses.    [A.E, 
n.  1186.;  ^ 

Now  as  the  end,  which  is  the  love  of  man  s  will, 
provides  or  acquires  for  itself  through  the  under- 
standing the  means  through  which   the  final  end 
may  come  forth,  to  which  the  first  end  advances 
through  the  means,  and  this  is  the  end  coming  forth, 
which  is  the  use,  it  follows  that  the  end  loves  the 
means  when  they  promote  that  use,  and  does  not 
love  them  when  they  do  not  promote  it.  but  then 
reje<5ls  them,  and  through  the  understanding  pro- 
vides or   acquires  for   itself  other  means.     This 
makes  clear  the  quality  of  a  man  whose  chief  end 
is  love  of  eminence,  or  love  of  glory  and  honor,  or 
whose  chief  end  is   a  love  of  wealth,  or  love  of 
money  or  possessions,  namely,  that  he  regards  all 


THE   TENTH    LAW. 


163 


means  as  servants  that  are  serviceable  to  him  for 
his  hnal  end,  which  is  love  coming  forth,  and  this 
love  is  use  to  himself. 

Take,  for  example,  a  priest  whose  chief  end  is 
love  of  money  or  possessions,  his  means  are  the 
mmistenal   office,   the   Word,   dodrine.   learning 
preaching  from  these,  and  instrudion  of  men  of 
the  church  and   their   reformation  and  salvation 
by  means  of  these.     These  means  are  valued  by 
h.m  according  to  the  end  and  for  the  sake  of  the 
end.  and  yet  they  are  not  loved,  although  with  some 
hey  appear  to   be   loved;   for  wealth  is  what   is 
oved,  since  this  is  the  first  and  the  final  end,  and 
that  end,  as  has  been  said,  is   everything  in  the 
means.     Such  assert,  indeed,  that   their  desire  is 
that  men  of  their  church  be  taught,  reformed  and 

T7.A    >"'  ^'  """^^'^  '^  '^"  ^"^  ^^°"^  ^vhich  this 
IS  said.  It  IS  not  said  from  their  love,  but  only  as 

The  same  is  true  of  a  priest  whose  chief  end 
s  a  love  of  eminence  over  others,  as  will  be  seen 

t  n^U  \T'  '"  ^^P^^^^^^  f^om  the  means. 
It  s  wholly  different  when  instrudion,  reformation, 
and  salvation  of  souls  is  the  chief  end.  and  wealth 

whi  e  before  he  was  a  natural  man.  With  a  spir- 
itual priest  wealth  and  eminence  are  blessings,  but 
with  a  natural  priest  they  are  curses.  This  has 
been  made  evident  by  much  experience  in  the 
spiritual  world.     Many  have  been  seen  and  helrd 


1 64 


THE   DIVINE   PROVIDENCE. 


there  who  asserted  that  they  had  taught,  had 
written,  and  had  reformed  men  ;  but  when  the  end 
or  love  of  their  will  was  disclosed  it  was  clear  that 
they  had  done  all  things  for  the  sake  of  self  and 
the  world,  and  nothing  for  the  sake  of  God  and 
the  neighbor,  and  that  they  even  cursed  God  and 
did  evil  to  the  neighbor.  Such  are  meant  in  Matt. 
vii.  22,  23  ;  and  in  Luke  xiii.  26,  27.    'A.E.,  n.  1187). 

Take  as  another  example  a   king,  a  prince,  a 
magistrate,  a  governor,  or  an  official,  whose  chief 
end  is  a  love  of  rule,  and  whose  means  are  all  things 
belonging  to  their  dominion,  administration,  and 
fundion.     The  uses  they  perform  do  not  have  the 
good   of   the   kingdom,   commonwealth,   country, 
communities,  and  fellow-citizens,  as  their  end,  but 
delight    in    ruling,   consequently    self.     The   uses 
themselves  are  not  to  them  uses,  but  minister  to 
their  pride.     They  perform  uses   for   the  sake  of 
appearances  and  of  distinction  ;  they  do  not  love 
them,  but  they  commend  and  yet  make  light  of 
them,  just  as  a  master  does  his  servants.     I  have 
seen   such   after  death,  and   have   been   amazed. 
They  were  devils  among  the  burning;   for  when 
the  love  of  rule  is  the  chief  end  it  is  the  very  fire  of 
hell.     I  have  also  seen  others  whose  chief  end  was 
not  love  of  rule,  but  love  of  God  and  the  neigh- 
bor, which  is  a  love  of  uses  ;  these  were  angels  to 
whom  dominion  in  the  heavens  was  granted. 

From  all  this  again  it  is  clear  that  eminence 
may  be  a  blessing  or  may  be  a  curse,  and  that 
eminence  as  a  blessing  is  from  the  Lord,  and  emi- 
nence as  a  curse  is  from  the  devil.     What  the  love 


THE   TENTH    LAW. 


165 


of  rule  is  when  it  is  the  chief  end,  any  one  who  is 

wise  can  see  from  the  kingdom  that  is  meant  in 

the  Word  by  "  Babylon,"  that  set  its  throne  in  the 

heavens  above  the  Lord  by  claiming  to  itself  all 

His  power;  consequently  it  invalidated  the  Divine 

means  of  worship,  which  are  from  the  Lord  through 

the  Word,  and  in  their  place  instituted  demoniacal 

means  of  worship,  which  are  adorations  of  living 

and  dead   men,  also  of  sepulchres,  dead  bodies. 

and  bones.    That  kingdom  is  depicled  as  Lucifer  in 

Isaiah  (xiv.  4-24).     But  only  those  that  have  exer- 

cised  that  dominion  from  a  love  of  it  are  Lucifers» 

not  the  rest.    (a.E.,  n  1,88.) 

As  the  love  of  rule  and  the  love  of  riches  pre- 
vail universally  in  the  Christian  world,  and  these 
loves  at  this  day  are  so  deeply  rooted  that  it  is  not 
known  that  they  in  any  wise  lead  astray,  it  is  im- 
portant that  their  quality  should  be  set  forth.    They 
lead  every  man  astray  who  does  not  shun  evils  be- 
cause they  are  sins  ;  for  he  who  does  not  thus  shun 
evils  does    not   fear  God,  and  therefore  remains 
natural.    And  as  the  love  of  ruling  and  the  love  of 
riches  are  the  natural  man's  own  loves,  he  does 
not  see   with   any  interior  acknowledgment  what 
those  loves  are  in  him.     This  he  does  not  see  un- 
less he  is  reformed,  and  he  can  be  reformed  only 
by  combat  against  evils.     It  is  believed  that  he  can 
be  reformed  by  faith  ;  but  there  can  be  no  faith  of 
God  in  man  until  he  fights  against  evils.     When 
man  has  thus  been  reformed  light  flows  in  from 
the  Lord  through  heaven  and  gives  him  an  afifec- 
tion  for  seeing  and  an  ability  to  see  what  those 


i66 


HIE    DIVINE    PROVIDENCE. 


loves  are,  and  whether  they  rule  or  serve  in  him, 
thus  whether  they  are  in  the  first  place  in  him  and 
make  as  it  were  the  head,  or  are  in  the  second  place 
and  make  as  it  were  the  feet.  If  they  rule  and  are 
in  the  first  place  they  lead  astray  and  become 
curses ;  but  if  they  serve  and  are  in  the  second  place 
they  do  not  lead  astrav  but  become  blessings. 

I  can  assert  that  all  in  whom  the  love  of  rule 
is  in  the  first  place  are  inwardly  devils.    This  love 
is  known  from  its  delight,  for  it  exceeds  every  other 
delight  of  the  life  of  man.    It  is  continually  exhaled 
from  hell,  and  the  exhalation  appears  like  the  fire 
of  a  great  furnace,  kindling  the  hearts  of  men  whom 
the  Lord  does  not  protect  from  it.     The  Lord  pro- 
teds  all  who  are  reformed.     Nevertheless,  the  for- 
mer  are  led  by  the  Lord,  although  in  hell  and  only 
by  means  of  outward  restraints,  which  are  fears 
on  account  of    the  penalties  of   the  law  and  the 
loss   of    reputation,  honor,  gain,  and   consequent 
pleasures.     He  leads  them  also  by  means  of  worldly 
rewards.     He  cannot  lead  them  out  of  hell  because 
the  love  of  rule  does  not  admit  of  internal  restraints, 
which  are  fear  of  God  and  affections  for  good  and 
truth,  by  means  of  which  the  Lord  leads  all  who 
will  follow  Him  to  heaven  and  in  heaven.    '.I.E.,  n. 

Something  shall  now  be  said  about  man  s  being 
led  by  Divine  providence  to  such  things  as  do  not 
lead  astray,  but  are  serviceable  to  eternal  life,  things 
that  also  have  reference  to  eminence  and  wealth. 
It  is  made  clear  that  this  is  so  by  what  1  have  seen 
in  the  heavens.     The  heavens  are  divided  into  so- 


vite* 


THE   TENTH    LAW. 


167 


cieties,  and  those  who  are  eminent  and  rich  are  to 
be  found  m  every  society.  The  eminent  there  are 
in  such  glory,  and  the  rich  in  such  abundance,  that 
the  glory  and  abundance  of  the  world  are  almost 
nothing  m  comparison.  But  all  the  eminent  there 
are  wise,  and  all  the  rich  abound  in  knowledge  ■ 
thus  eminence  pertains  to  wisdom  and  wealth  per^ 
tains  to  knowledge.  ^ 

Such  eminence  and  wealth  can  be  acquired  in 
this  world  both  by  those  who  are  eminent  and  rich 
and  by  those  who  are  not,  for  they  are  acquired 
here  by  all  who  love  wisdom  and  knowled^^e      To 
ove  wisdom  is  to  love  uses  that  are  true  uses  and 
to  love  knowledge  (....„,/,    is  to  love  knowledges 
ico^.:^ion.s^oi  good  and  truth  for  the  sake  of  such 
uses.     When  uses  are  loved  more  than  self  and 
he  vyorld.  and  knowledges  of  good  and  truth  are 
loved  for  the  sake  of  uses,  uses  have  the  first  place 
and  eminence  and  wealth  the  second  place     and 
this  IS  the  case  with  all  who  are  eminent  and  rich 
in   the   heavens.     They  look  upon    the  eminence 
they  have  in  respecl  to  wisdom,  and  the  wealth  thev 
have  ,n  respecl  to  knowledge,  just  as  a  man  looks 
upon  his  garments.    M.^:.n.,x9o) 

The  eminence  and  wealth  of  the  angels  of 
heaven  sha  1  also  be  described.  In  the  sfc ieties 
of  heaven  there  are  higher  and  lower  governors 
to  th""^1  '^  ^'^  ^"^^^"'^  ranked  According 
ex  elsthe  T  "'  ^T"'^^"^^'  ^^^^  ^^ief.  wh! 
Tpa lace  so  ^'    "•7"'"'^'  '"^"^  ^"  '^'  ^^^^^  - 

torld  can  beTo^"        ";  '^^'  "°^^'"^  ^"  '^^  ^hole 
world  can  be  compared  with  it.    Its  architedure  is 


i68 


THE   DIVINE   PROVIDENXE. 


SO  wonderful  that  I  can  truthfully  assert  that  not  a 
hundredth  part  of  it  can  be  described  by  natural 
language,  for  art  itself  is  there  in  its  art.     Within 
the  palace  are  rooms  and  bed-chambers,  in  which 
all  the  furniture  and  decorations  are  resplendent 
with  gold  and  various  precious  stones  in  such  forms 
as  no  artist  in  the  world  can  imitate  either  in  paint- 
ing  or  sculpture.     And  what  is  wonderful,  the  par- 
ticulars, even  to  the  minutest  particulars,  are  for 
use  ;  and  every  one  who  enters  sees  their  use,  per- 
ceiving  it  by  a  breathing  forth,  as  it  were,  of  the 
uses  through  their  images.    But  no  wise  person  who 
enters  keeps  his  eyes  fixed  very  long  upon  the  im- 
ages,  but  his  m ind  attends  to  the  uses,  since  these  de- 
light  his  wisdom.  Round  about  the  palace  are  colon- 
nades,  pleasure  gardens,  and  smaller  palaces,  each 
in  the  form  of  its  own  beauty  a  heavenly  delight. 
Besides  these  magnificent  objeds  there  are  attend- 
ant  guards,  all  clad  in  shining  garments,  and  many 
other  things.     The   subordinate   governors  enjoy 
similar  luxuries,  which  are  magnificent  and  splen- 
did according  to  the  degrees  of  their  wisdom,  and 
their  wisdom  is  according  to  the  degrees  of  their 
love  of  uses.     And  not  only  do  the  rulers  have  such 
things,  but  also  the  inhabitants,  all  of  whom  love 
uses  and  perform  them  by  various  employments. 

But  few  of  these  things  can  be  described;  those 
that  cannot  be  described  are  innumerable,  for  as 
they  are  in  their  origin  spiritual  they  do  not  fall  into 
the  ideas  of  the  natural  man,  and  consequently  not 
into  the  expressions  of  his  language,  except  into 
these,  that  when  wisdom  builds  for  itself  a  habita- 


THE  TENTH    LAW. 


169 


lion,  and  makes  it  comformable  to  itself,  everything 
that  lies  inmostly  concealed  in  any  science  or  in  any 
art  flows  together  and  accomplishes  the  purpose. 

All  this  has  been  written  to  make  known  that 
all  things  in  the  heavens  also  have  reference  to 
eminence  and  wealth,  but  that  eminence  there  per- 
tains to  wisdom  and  wealth  to  knowledge,  and  that 
such  are  the  things  to  which  man  is  led  by  the 
Lord  through  His  Divine  providence,    {a  £.,  n  ng^ 


I70 


THE   DIVINE    PROVIDENCE. 


XL 


Eminence  and  Wealth  through  Uses. 

Something  shall  now   be   said  about  the  uses 
through  which  men  and  angels  have  wisdom.     To 
love  uses  is  nothing  else  than  to  love  the  neighbor, 
for  use  in  the  spiritual  sense  is  the  neighbor.    This 
can  be  seen  from  the  (a6i  that  every  one  loves 
another  not  because  of  his  face  and  person  but  be- 
cause of  his  will  and  understanding  ;  he  loves  one 
who  has  a  good  will  and  a  good  understanding,  and 
does  not  love  one  with  a  good  will  and  a  bad  under- 
standing, or  with  a  good  understanding  and  a  bad 
will.     And  as  a  man  is  loved  or  not  loved  for  these 
reasons,  it  follows  that  the  neighbor  is  that  from 
which  every  one  is  a  man,  and  that  is  his  spiritual. 
Place  ten  men  before  you  that  you  may  choose 
one  of  them  to  be  your  associate  in  any  duty  or 
business  ;   will  you  not  first  find  out  about  them 
and  choose  the  one  who  comes  nearest  [proxime) 
to  your  use  ?    Therefore  he  is  your  neighbor  pro.r- 
imus),  and  is  loved  more  than  the  others.     Or  be- 
come acquainted  with  ten  maidens  with  the  pur- 
pose of  choosing  one  of  them  for  your  wife  ;   do 
you  not  first  ascertain  the  charadler  of  each  one, 
and  if  she  consents  betroth  to  you  the  one  that 


eminence  and  wealth  through  uses    171 

Z  Ir-  T^'  """^  ''  "^^^^  >'^"^  "^'^hbor  than 
the  others.  If  you  should  say  to  yourself.  "  Every 
man  is  my  neighbor,  and  is  therefore  to  be  loved 
without  distindion,"  a  devil-man  and  an  angel, 
man^or  a  harlot  and  a  virgin  might  be  equally 

Use  is  the- neighbor,  because  every  man  is 
valued  and  loved  not  for  his  will  and  understand- 
ing alone  but  for  the  uses  he  performs  or  is  able  to 
perform  from  these.  Therefore  a  man  of  use  is  a 
man  according  to  his  use  ;  and  a  man  not  of  use 
is  a  man  not  a  man,  for  of  such  a  man  it  is  said  that 
he  IS  not  useful  for  anything  ;  and  although  in  this 
world  he  may  be  tolerated  in  a  community  so  long 
as  he  lives  from  what  is  his  own.  after  death  when 
he  becomes  a  spirit  he  is  cast  out  into  a  desert 

Man.  therefore,  is  such  as  his  use  is.     But  uses 
are  manifold  ;  in  general  they  are  heavenly  or  in- 
ternal.     Heavenly  uses  are  those  that  are  service- 
able more  or  less,  or  more  nearly  or  remotely,  to 
the  church,  to  the  country,  to  society,  and  to  a  fel- 
ow  citizen,  for  the  sake  of  these  as  ends  ;  but  in- 
fernal uses  are  those  that  are  serviceable  only  to 
the  man  himself  and  those  dependent  on  him  ;  and 
If  serviceable   to   the  church,  to   the   country    to 
society,  or  to  a  fellow  citizen,  it  is  not  for  the  sake 
of  tTiese  as  ends,  but  for  the  sake  of  self  as  the  end 
And  yet  every  one  ought  from  love,  though  not  self 
ove    to  provide  the  necessaries  and  requisites  of 
life  for  himself  and  those  dependent  on  him 

When  man  loves  uses  by  doing  them  in  the  first 
place,  and  loves  the  world  and  self  in  the  second 


I70 


THE   DIVINE   PROVIDENCE. 


XI. 


Eminence  and  Wealth  through  Uses. 

Something  shall  now   be   said  about  the  uses 
through  which  men  and  angels  have  wisdom.     To 
love  uses  is  nothing  else  than  to  love  the  neighbor, 
for  use  in  the  spiritual  sense  is  the  neighbor.    This 
can  be  seen  from  the  fad  that  every  one  loves 
another  not  because  of  his  face  and  person  but  be- 
cause of  his  will  and  understanding  ;  he  loves  one 
who  has  a  good  will  and  a  good  understanding,  and 
does  not  love  one  with  a  good  will  and  a  bad  under, 
standmg,  or  with  a  good  understanding  and  a  bad 
will.     And  as  a  man  is  loved  or  not  loved  for  these 
reasons,  it  follows  that  the  neighbor  is  that  from 
which  every  one  is  a  man,  and  that  is  his  spiritual. 
Place  ten  men  before  you  that  you  may  choose 
one  of  them  to  be  your  associate  in  any  duty  or 
business ;   will  you  not  first  find  out  about  them 
and  choose  the  one  who  comes  nearest  [pro rime) 
to  your  use  ?    Therefore  he  is  your  neighbor  ^prox- 
imus),  and  is  loved  more  than  the  others.     Or  be- 
come acquainted  with  ten  maidens  with  the  pur- 
pose of  choosing  one  of  them  for  your  wife  ;   do 
you  not  first  ascertain  the  charader  of  each  one, 
and  if  she  consents  betroth  to  you  the  one  that 


E.MINENCE   and    WEALTH    THROUGH    USES     171 

ItV^r^    T^'  °""  ''  "^^^^  >'°"^  "^'^hbor  than 
the  others.    If  you  should  say  to  yourself,  "  Every 

man  ,s  my  neighbor,  and  is  therefore  to  be  loved 

without  distmaion."  a  devil-man   and  an  angel- 

man^or  a   harlot  and  a  virgin  might  be  equally 

vol  ^f  \  f^^  neighbor,  because  everv  man  is 
valued  and  loved  not  for  his  will  and  understand- 
ing alone  but  for  the  uses  he  performs  or  is  able  to 
perform  from  these.  Therefore  a  man  of  use  is  a 
man  according  to  his  use  ;  and  a  man  not  of  use 
is  a  man  not  a  man,  for  of  such  a  man  it  is  said  that 
he  IS  not  useful  for  anything  ;  and  although  in  this 
world  he  may  be  tolerated  in  a  communitv  so  lon^ 
as  he  lives  from  what  is  his  own.  after  death  when 
he  becomes  a  spirit  he  is  cast  out  into  a  desert 

Man.  therefore,  is  such  as  his  use  is.  But  uses 
are  manifold  ;  in  general  they  are  heavenly  or  in- 
fernal.  Heavenly  uses  are  those  that  are  service- 
able more  or  less,  or  more  nearly  or  remotely,  to 
the  church,  to  the  country,  to  society,  and  to  a  fel- 
low  citizen,  for  the  sake  of  these  as  ends  ;  but  in- 
fernal uses  are  those  that  are  serviceable  only  to 
the  man  himself  and  those  dependent  on  him ;  and 
If  serviceable  to  the  church,  to  the  country  to 
society,  or  to  a  fellow  citizen,  it  is  not  for  the  sake 
of  these  as  ends,  but  for  the  sake  of  self  as  the  end 
And  yet  every  one  ought  from  love,  though  not  self 
ove  to  provide  the  necessaries  and  requisites  of 
iile  for  himself  and  those  dependent  on  him 

When  man  loves  uses  by  doing  them  in  the  first 
place,  and  loves  the  world  and  self  in  the  second 


172 


THE   DIVINE   PROVIDENCE. 


place,  the  former  constitutes  his  spiritual  and  the 
latter  his  natural ;  and  the  spiritual  rules,  and  the 
natural  serves.  This  makes  evident  what  the  spir- 
itual  is,  and  what  the  natural  is.  This  is  the  mean- 
ing of  the  Lord's  woeds  in  Matthew  : 

"Seek  ye  first  the  kingdom  of  the  heavens  and  its  rieht- 
eousness,  and  all  thing's  shall  be  added  unto  vou  " 

(vi.  331.  ^ 

"  The  kingdom  of  the  heavens  "  means  the  Lord 
and  His  church,  and  "  righteousness  "  means  spir- 
itual, moral,  and  civil  good  ;  and  every  good  that 
is  done  from  the  love  of  these  is  a  use.  Then 
"all  things  shall  be  added,"  because  when  use  is 
in  the  first  place,  the  Lord,  from  whom  is  all  good, 
is  in  the  first  place  and  rules,  and  gives  whatever 
contributes  to  eternal  life  and  happiness ;  for,  as 
has  been  said,  all  things  of  the  Lord's  Divine  pro- 
vidence  pertaining  to  man  look  to  what  is  eternal. 
The  "all  things  that  shall  be  added  "  refer  to  food 
and  raiment,  because  food  means  every  thing  inter- 
nal that  nourishes  the  soul,  and  raiment  every  thing 
external  that  like  the  body  clothes  it.  Every  thing 
internal  has  reference  to  love  and  wisdom,  and 
everything  external  to  wealth  and  eminence.  All 
this  makes  clear  what  is  meant  by  loving  uses  for 
the  sake  of  uses,  and  what  the  uses  are  from  which 
man  has  wisdom,  from  which  and  according  to 
which  wisdom  every  one  has  eminence  and  wealth 
in  heaven,    [a.e.,  n.  1193  ) 

As  man  was  created  to  perform  uses,  and  this  is 
to  love  the  neighbor,  so  all  who  come  into  heaven, 
however  many  there  are,  must  do  uses.     All  the 


EMINENCE  AND   WEALTH   THROUGH   USES.      1 73 

delight  and  blessedness  of  these  is  according  to 
uses  and  to  the  love  of  uses.  Heavenly  oy  is 
from  no  other  source.  He  who  believes  tha  such 
joy  ,s  possible  in  idleness  is  much  deceived  No 
Idle  person  ,s  tolerated  even  in  hell.  Those  who 
are  there  are   in  workhouses  and  under  a  judge 

do  daT^T  'T  °"  l'^  P"^°"^^^  ^^^^  ^hey  mu^s 
?ood  or'^cloyh         ''  ^^"^  ^°  "°^  ^^  ^^^'^  '^^^^  no 
InH      I  u"^  '"  ^'''^"'  ^^^  ^h^y  stand  hungry 

and  naked  ;  thus  are  they  compelled  to  work  there 

fear  but' 7"^  '"  ''"/  '"  ''"  ^^^^  ^^^  ^°"-  '^-^ 
fear,  but  m  heaven  from  love ;  and  fear  does  not 

give  joy.  but  love  does. 

Nevertheless  it  is  proper  to  vary  occupations 
in  difterent  ways  in  company  with  others,  and  these 
serve  as  recreations,  which  are  also  uses.  It  has 
been  granted  me  to  see  many  things  in  heaven 
many  thmgs  m  the  world,  and  many  things  in  the 
human  body,  and  to  consider  at  the  same  tfme  their 
uses;  and  It  has  been  revealed  that  every  partic 
u  ar  thmg  m  them,  both  great  and  small,  was  ere- 
ated  from  use,  in  use.  and  for  use ;  and  that  the 
part  m  which  the  outermost  that  is  for  use  ceases 
IS  separated  as  harmful  and  is  cast  out  as  damned. 


PART  THIRD 


Animal  and  Vegetable  Life 


fc 


Animal  and  Veeetable  Life. 


I. 


A  Spiritual  and  a  Natural  in  all 'things. 


Something  shall  now  be  said  about  the  life  of 
animals,  and  afterwards  about  the  soul  of  vegeta- 
bles. The  whole  world,  with  each  and  every  thing 
in  it,  came  into  existence  and  continues  to  exist 
from  the  Lord  the  Creator  of  the  universe.  There 
are  two  suns,  the  sun  of  the  spiritual  world  and  the 
sun  of  the  natural  world.  The  sun  of  the  spiritual 
world  is  the  Lord's  Divine  love,  the  sun  of  the  nat- 
ural world  is  pure  fire.  From  the  sun  that  is  Divine 
love  every  work  of  creation  has  begun,  and  by 
means  of  the  sun  that  is  fire  it  has  been  carried 
to  completion. 

Every  thing  that  goes  forth  from  the  sun  that  is 
Divine  love  is  called  spiritual,  and  every  thing  that 
goes  forth  from  the  sun  that  is  fire  is  called  natural. 
The  spiritual  from  its  origin  has  life  in  itself,  but 
the  natural  from  its  origin  has  nothing  of  life  in 
itself.  And  because  from  these  two  fountains  of 
the  universe  all  things  that  are  in  both  worlds  have 
come  into  existence  and  continue  to  exist,  it  follows 
that  there  is  in  every  created  thing  in  this  world  a 


178 


ANIMAL   AND    VEGETABLE   LIFE. 


spiritual  and  a  natural,  a  spiritual  as  its  soul  and  a 
natural  as  its  body,  or  a  spiritual  as  its  internal  and 
a  natural  as  its  external;  or  a  spiritual  as  the  cause 
and  a  natural  as  the  effedl.  That  these  two  in  any 
particular  thing  cannot  be  separated  every  wise 
person  knows,  for  if  you  separate  cause  from 
effetfl  or  the  internal  from  the  external,  the  effedl 
or  the  external  goes  to  pieces,  as  when  the  soul 
is  separated  from  the  body. 

That  there  is  such  a  conjunction  in  the  partic- 
ular and  even  in  the  most  particular  things  of  nat- 
ure has  not  yet  been  known.  It  has  not  been 
known  because  of  the  existing  ignorance  respe<fi- 
ing  the  spiritual  world,  the  sun  there,  and  heat  and 
light  there,  and  because  of  the  insanity  of  sensual 
men  in  ascribing  all  things  to  nature,  and  rarely 
any  thing  to  God  except  creation  in  general ;  and 
yet  not  the  least  thing  is  possible  or  can  be  pos- 
sible in  nature  in  which  there  is  not  a  spiritual. 
That  this  spiritual  is  in  each  and  every  thing  of 
the  three  kingdoms  of  nature,  and  how  it  is  therein, 
will  be  explained  in  what  follows.    {A.E.,  n.  1196.) 


ANIMAL    LIFE. 


179 


II. 


Animal  Life. 


That  the  spiritual  and  the  natural  are  thus  unit- 
ed in  each  and  every  thing  of  the  world,  just  as 
there  is  a  soul  in  each  and  everything  of  the  body, 
or  an  effeding  cause  in  each  and  every  thing  of 
the  effed,  or  a  producing  internal  in  each  and 
every  thing  of  its  product,  can  be  illustrated  and 
confirmed  by  the  subjects  and  objects  of  the  three 
kingdoms  of  nature,  which  are  all  things  of  the 
world.  That  there  is  such  a  union  of  things  spir- 
itual and  things  natural  in  each  and  all  of  the  sub- 
jects and  objects  of  the  animal  kingdom  is  evident 
from  the  many  wonderful  things  that  have  been 
observed  in  that  kingdom  by  learned  men  and 
societies,  and  recorded  to  be  studied  by  those  who 
investigate  causes. 

It  is  generally  known  that  animals  of  all  kinds, 
great  and  small,  both  those  that  walk  and  creep 
on  the  earth  and  those  that  fly  in  the  air  and 
swim  in  the  waters,  know  from  something  innate 
and  implanted  that  is  called  instinct,  and  also  nat- 
ure, how  their  species  is  to  be  propagated,  how 
the  young  when  born  or  brought  forth  are  to  be 
reared,  and  on  what  food  they  are  to  be  fed  ;   also 


i8o 


ANIMAL   AND   VEGETABLE   LIFE. 


ANIMAL    LIFE. 


they  know  their  proper  food  from  mere  sight, 
smell,  or  taste,  and  where  to  seek  and  gather  it ; 
also  they  know  their  own  places  of  habitation  and 
resort,  also  where  their  companions  and  mates  are 
by  hearing  the  sounds  they  make ;  also  they  know 
from  the  variations  of  the  sound  what  they  desire. 
The  knowledge  of  such  things,  viewed  in  itself,  as 
well  as  the  affection  from  which  it  is  derived,  is 
spiritual ;  but  the  knowledge  and  affection  are 
clothed  from  nature  and  brought  forth  through 
nature. 

Moreover,  in  respect  to  the  organs,  members, 
and  viscera  of  the  body,  and  in  respect  to  their 
uses,  animal  and  man  are  wholly  alike.  An  animal, 
like  a  man,  has  eyes  and  thus  sight,  ears  and  thus 
hearing,  nostrils  and  thus  smell,  a  mouth  and  tongue 
and  thus  taste,  also  the  cuticular  sense  with  all  its 
variations  in  every  part  of  the  body. 

In  regard  to  the  interiors  of  the  body  they  have 
like  viscera,  they  have  two  brains,  a  heart  and  lungs, 
a  stomach,  liver,  pancreas,  spleen,  mesentery,  in- 
testines, with  the  other  organs  for  chyle-making, 
blood-making,  and  purification  ;  also  the  organs  of 
secretion  and  the  organs  of  generation  ;  they  are 
also  alike  in  respect  to  nerves,  blood-vessels,  mus- 
cles, skins,  cartilages,  and  bones.  The  likeness  is 
such  that  man  in  respect  to  these  things  is  an 
animal. 

That  all  these  things  in  man  have  a  corre- 
spondence with  the  societies  of  heaven  has  been 
shown  in  many  places  in  the  Arcana  Caelcstia; 
consequently  the  same  is  true  of  animals.     From 


i8i 


this  correspondence  it  is  clear  that  the  spiritual 
ads  into  the  natural  and  produces  its  effects  by 
means  of  the  natural,  as  the  principal  cause  does 
by  means  of  its  instrumental  cause.  But  these  are 
only  general  evidences  that  bear  witness  to  the 
conjunction  in  that  kingdom,    [a.e.,  n.  1197.) 

The  particular  evidences  that  furnish  like  testi- 
mony are  still  more  numerous  and  more  striking. 
With  some  kinds  of  animals  these  are  such  that  a 
sensual  man,  whose  thoughts  are  confined  to  mat- 
ter, compares  the  things  pertaining  to  beasts  with 
those  pertaining  to  man,  and  from  illusive  intelli- 
gence concludes  that  their  states  of  life  are  the 
same,  even  after  death,  insisting  that  if  man  lives 
after  death  animals  do  also,  or  if  animals  die  man 
also  dies.  The  evidences  that  so  testify  and  by 
which  the  sensual  man  is  deluded  are  that  certain 
animals  seem  to  have  prudence  and  cunning,  con- 
nubial love,  friendship  and  seeming  charity,  probity 
and  benevolence,  in  a  word,  a  morality  the  same  as 
men  have. 

For  example,  dogs,  from  a  genius  innate  in 
them,  know  how  to  act  as  faithful  guards  as  if  from 
their  own  nature  ;  from  the  transpiration  of  their 
master's  affe(5tion  they  know  as  it  were  his  will  ; 
they  search  him  out  by  perceiving  the  scent  of  his 
footsteps  and  clothes;  they  know  the  different 
quarters  and  find  their  way  home  even  through 
pathless  regions  and  dense  forests ;  with  other  like 
things  ;  from  which  the  sensual  man  concludes 
that  a  dog  has  knowledge,  intelligence,  and  wisdom. 
Nor  is  this  to  be  wondered  at  when  he  ascribes 


l82 


ANIMAL  AND    VEGETABLE   LIFE. 


all  such  things,  both  in  the  dog  and  in  himself,  to 
nature.  But  the  spiritual  man  on  the  other  hand 
sees  that  there  is  something  spiritual  that  leads, 
and  that  this  is  joined  to  the  natural. 

These  particular  evidences,  again,  are  that  birds 
know  how  to  build  their  nests,  to  lay  eggs  in  them, 
to  brood  over  them,  to  hatch  their  young,  and  after- 
wards from  a  love  called  storge  to  provide  for  them 
warmth  under  their  wings  and  food  out  of  their 
mouths,  until  they  become  clothed  with  feathers 
and  furnished  with  wings,  when  they  of  themselves 
come  into  all  the  knowledge  of  their  parents  from 
the  spiritual  which  is  their  soul,  and  from  which 
they  provide  for  themselves. 

These  particular  evidences,  again,  are  all  things 
that  are  contained  in  eggs.  In  the  egg  the  rudi- 
ment of  a  new  bird  lies  hidden,  encompassed  by 
every  element  necessary  to  the  formation  of  the 
foetus,  from  its  beginnings  in  the  head  to  the  full 
formation  of  all  things  of  the  body.  Is  it  possible 
that  nature  should  provide  such  things?  For  this 
is  not  only  bringing  forth,  it  is  also  creating  ;  and 
nature  does  not  create.  What  has  nature  in  com- 
mon with  life  except  that  life  may  be  clothed  by 
nature,  and  thus  put  itself  forth  and  appear  in  form 
as  an  animal  ? 

Among  particular  evidences  furnishing  the  same 
testimony  are  those  seen  in  worms  when  in  un- 
dergoing their  metamorphosis  they  encompass 
themselves  as  with  a  womb  that  they  may  be  born 
again,  in  which  they  are  changed  into  nymphs 
and  chrysalises,  and  after  the  appointed  process 


ANIMAL    LIFE. 


183 


and  time  into  beautiful  butterflies,  when  they  fiy 
forth  into  the  air  as  into  their  heaven  ;  and  there 
the  female  sports  with  her  male  companion  like 
one  marriage  consort  with  another,  and  nourish 
themselves  with  fragrant  flowers,  and  lay  their 
eggs,  thus  providing  that  their  kind  may  live  after 
them.  A  spiritual  man  sees  that  this  emulates 
the  re-birth  of  man,  and  is  a  representative  of  his 
resurreaion,  and  thus  is  spiritual. 

Still  more  striking  evidences  are  seen  in  bees, 
which  have  a  government  after  the  form  of  hu- 
man governments.  They  build  for  themselves  little 
houses  of  wax  according  to  the  rules  of  art  in  a 
series,  with  commodious  passages  for  transit ;  they 
fill   the  cells  with  honey  collected  from  flowers  ; 
they  appoint  over  themselves  a  queen  to  be  the 
common  parent  of  a  future  race  ;  she  dwells  above 
her  people  in  the  midst  of  her  guards  ;  and  when 
she  is  about  to  bring  forth  they  follow  her,  with  a 
mixed  multitude  after  them  ;  thus  she  goes  from 
cell  to  cell,  and  lays   a  little  egg  in  each,  and  so 
contmually  until  her  matrix  is  emptied,  when  she 
returns   to   her   home  ;   this  she  does  repeatedly. 
Her  guards,  which  are  called  drones  because  they 
perform  no  other  use  than  as  so  many  servants  to 
one  mistress,  and  perhaps  inspire  her  with  some- 
thing of  amatory  desire,  and  because  they  do  no 
work  are  judged  useless  ;  and  for  this  reason,  and 
lest  they  should  seize  and  consume  the  gains  and 
work  of  others,  they  are  brought  out  and  deprived 
of  their  wings.     Thus  the  community  is  purged  of 
Its  idle  members.      Moreover,  when  the  new  pro- 


iS4 


ANIMAL   AND    VEGETABLE    LIFE. 


THE   ANLMAL   SOUL. 


geny  is  grown  up,  they  are  commanded  by  a  gen- 
eral voice,  which  is  heard  as  a  murmer,  to  depart 
and  to  seek  a  home  and  food  for  themselves.  And 
they  go  out  and  collect  into  a  swarm,  and  institute 
a  like  order  in  a  new  hive. 

These  and  many  other  things,  which  investigat- 
ors have   discovered  and  published  in  books,  are 
notunlike  the  governments  that  have  been  instituted 
and  ordained  in  kingdoms  and  commonwealths  by 
human  intelligence  and  wisdom,  according  to  the 
laws  of  justice  and  judgment.     Moreover,  these 
animals,  like  men,  know  as  it  were  the  approach 
of  winter,  for  which  they  gather  food   lest  they 
should  die  of  hunger.     Who  can  deny  that  such 
things  are  from  a  spiritual  origin,  or  can  believe 
that  they  can  possibly  be  from  any  other  origin  ? 
To  me  all  these  things  are  evidences  and  proofs 
of  a  spiritual  influx  into  natural  things,  and  I  have 
greatly  wondered  how  they  could   be   made  evi- 
dences and  proofs  of  the  operation  of  nature  alone, 
as  they  are  by  certain  persons  who  are  deluded  by 
self-intelligence.     A.E.,n.  1198  ) 


185 


III. 


The  Animal  Soul. 

No  one  can  know  what  kind  of  a  life  the  beasts 
of  the  earth,  the  birds  of  heaven,  and  the  fishes 
of  the  sea  have,  unless  it  is  known  what  kind  of 
a  soul  they  have.  It  is  acknowledged  that  every 
animal  has  a  soul,  for  they  are  alive,  and  life  is 
soul,  and  this  is  why  they  are  called  in  the  Word, 
"  living  souls."  That  an  animal  is  a  soul  in  its  out- 
most form,  which  is  corporeal,  such  as  appears  be- 
fore the  sight,  can  be  best  known  from  the  spiritual 
world  ;  for  in  that  world,  the  same  as  in  the  nat- 
ural world,  beasts  of  every  kind  and  birds  of  every 
kind,  and  fishes  of  every  kind,  are  to  be  seen  and 
so  like  in  form  that  they  cannot  be  distinguished 
from  those  in  our  world  ;  but  there  is  this  difference, 
that  in  the  spiritual  world  they  spring  evidently 
from  the  afTedions  of  angels  and  spirits,  so  that 
they  are  affedions  made  apparent,  and  conse- 
quently they  disappear  as  soon  as  the  angel  or 
spirit  departs  or  his  afifecflion  ceases.  From  this 
it  is  clear  that  their  soul  is  nothing  else  ;  and  that 
as  many  genera  and  species  of  animals  are  possible 
as  there  are  genera  and  species  of  affedlions. 

It  will  be  seen  in  what  follows  that  the  affec- 
tions that  are  represented  in  the  spiritual  world  by 


1 


1 86 


ANIMAL   AND    VEGETABLE   LIFE. 


animals  are  not*  interior  spiritual  affedions,  but 
are  exterior  spiritual  affedions  that  are  called  nat- 
ural;  also  that  there  is  not  a  hair  or  fibre  of  wool 
on  any  beast,  or  a  filament  of  a  quill  or  feather 
upon  any  bird,  or  a  point  of  a  fin  or  scale  on  any 
fish,  that  is  not  from  the  life  of  their  soul,  thus 
that  is  not  from  the  spiritual  clothed  by  the  nat- 
ural. But  something  shall  first  be  said  about  the 
animals  that  appear  in  heaven,  in  hell,  and  in  the 
world  of  spirits  which  lies  between  heaven  and 

hell.     {A.E.,  n.  1199.) 

As  the  entire  heaven  and  the  entire  hell,  and 
the  entire  world  of  spirits  are  divided  into  societies, 
and  the  societies  are  arranged  according  to  the 
genera  and  species  of  affections,  and  as  the  ani- 
mals there,  as  has  just  been  said,  are  affections 
made  apparent,  so  one  kind  of  animal  with  its 
species  appears  in  one  society,  and  another  in 
another,  and  all  kinds  of  animals  with  their  species 
in  the  societies  taken  together.  In  the  societies  of 
heaven  gentle  and  clean  animals  are  seen,  in  the 
societies  of  hell  the  savage  and  unclean  beasts,  and 
in  the  world  of  spirits  beasts  of  an  intermediate 
character.  These  I  have  often  seen,  and  from  these 
I  have  been  able  to  recognise  the  quality  of  the 
angels  and  spirits  there. 

All  in  the  spiritual  world  are  known  from  what 
is  seen  near  them  and  about  them,  and  their  affec- 
tions from  various  things,  and  also  from  animals. 
In  the  heavens  I  have  seen  lambs,  sheep,  and  goats, 
so  closely  resembling  those  seen  in  the  world  that 
they  do  not  differ  at  all.     I  have  also  seen  in  the 


THE   ANIMAL   SOUL. 


187 


heavens  turtle  doves,  pigeons,  birds  of  paradise, 
and  many  others,  beautiful  in  form  and  color.     I 
have  also  seen  fish  in  the  waters,  but  these  in  the 
lowest  parts  of  heaven.     In  the  hells,  dogs,  wolves, 
foxes,  tigers,  swine,  mice,  and  many  other  kinds  of 
savage  and  unclean  beasts  are  seen,  besides  poison- 
ous serpents  of  many  kinds,  also  ravens,  owls,  and 
bats.     But  in  the  worid  of  spirits  camels,  elephants, 
horses,  asses,  oxen,   deer,  lions,  leopards,  bears, 
also  eagles,  kites,  magpies,  peacocks,  and  quails, 
are  seen.     I  have  also  seen  there  composite  ani- 
mals, like  those  seen  by  the  prophets  and  described 
in  the  Word  (as  in  the  Apoc.  xiii.  2,  and  elsewhere). 
As  the  animals  that  appear  in  that  worid  bear 
such  a  resemblance  to  the  animals  in  this  world 
that  no  difference  is  discernable,  and  as  the  ani- 
mals in  that  world  derive  their  existence  from  the 
affections  of  the  angels   of   heaven,  or  from  the 
lusts  of  the  spirits  of  hell,  it  follows  that  natural 
affections  or  lusts  are  their  souls,  and  when  these 
have  been  clothed  with  a  body  they  are  animals 
in  form.     But  what  affection  or  cupidity  is  the  soul 
of  this  or  that  animal,  either   a   beast  or  a  wild 
beast  of  the  earth,  a  bird  of  day  or  of  the  night, 
or  a  fish  of  limpid  or  foetid  water,  will  not  be  ex- 
plained here.    These  are  mentioned  frequently  in 
the  Word,  and  have  a  signification  there  in  accord- 
ance with  their  souls.     The  signification  of  lambs, 
sheep,    she-goats,  rams,  kids,  he-goats,    bullocks, 
oxen,  camels,  horses,  asses,  deer,  and  various  kinds 

of  birds,  may  be  seen  in  the  Arcana  Caelestia.   [a.E. 
n.  12CX).)  '         * 


i8S 


ANIMAL   AND    VEGETABLE   LIFE. 


These  things  being  premised,  what  the  soul  of 
beasts  is  shall  be  considered.  The  soul  of  beasts, 
regarded  in  itself,  is  spiritual ;  for  affedion  of  what- 
ever kind,  whether  good  or  evil,  is  spiritual,  for  it  is 
a  derivation  from  some  love,  and  has  its  origin  in 
the  heat  and  light  that  go  forth  from  the  Lord  as 
a  sun ;  and  whatever  goes  forth  from  that  is  spir- 
itual. That  the  evil  affedions  that  are  called  lusts 
are  from  the  same  source  is  evident  from  what  has 
been  already  said  about  the  evil  loves  and  insane 
cupidities  therefrom  of  infernal  genii  and  spirits. 

Beasts  and  wild  beasts,  the  souls  of  which  are 
like  evil  affedions,  as  mice,  poisonous  serpents, 
crocodiles,  basilisks,  vipers,  and  the  like,  with  the 
varwus  noxious  inse<5ts,  were  not  created  from  the 
beginning,  but  they  originated  with  hell  in  stagnant 
lakes,  marshes,  rank  and  fetid  waters,  and  in  the 
effluvia  from  dead  bodies,  dung,  and  urine,  with 
which  the  malignant  loves  of  infernal  societies  have 
communication.  That  such  communication  exists 
has  been  granted  me  to  know  from  much  experi- 
ence. 

Moreover,  in  every  thing  spiritual  there  is  a 
plastic  force  wherever  homogeneous  exhalations 
are  present  in  nature  ;  and  in  every  thing  spiritual 
there  is  also  a  propagative  force,  for  the  spiritual 
gives  form  by  means  of  wombs  or  eggs,  not  only  to 
the  organs  of  sense  and  motion  but  also  to  the 
organs  of  prolification.  But  from  the  beginning 
useful  and  clean  beasts  only  were  created,  the  souls 
of  which  are  good  affe(5\ions. 

It  must  be  noted,  however,  that  the  souls  of 


THE   ANIMAL   SOUL. 


189 


beasts  are  not  spiritual  in  the  same  degree  in  which 
the  souls  of  men  are  spiritual,  but  in  a  lower  de- 

and  although  aflfea.ons  of  a  lower  degree,  regarded 
in  their  ongm,  are  spiritual,  they  must  be  termed 
natural.  They  must  be  so  called  because  they  are 
like  the  affections  of  the  natural  man.  In  man  there 
are  three  degrees  of  natural  affedions,  and  the 
same  IS  true  of  beasts.  In  the  lowest  degree  are 
inseas  of  various  kinds,  in  a  higher  degree  are  the 
birds  of  heaven,  and  in  a  still  higher  degree  are 
the  beasts  of  the  earth,  which  were  created  from 
the  beginning.    {a.£.,  n.  120, ) 


»i 


a  .fc  i     1 1  I  [  •■'  r  f  l^fftf'm*  M  iiy  IJMrrifinftjM^iiii^^ 


igo 


ANIMAL  AND    VEGETABLE   LIFE. 


MEN   AND   BEASTS. 


191 


IV. 


THE  DIFFERENCE  BETWEEN    MEN  AND  BEASTS. 

The  difference  between  men  and  beasts  is  like 
that  between  wakefulness  and  dreaming,  or  be- 
tween  light  and  shade.     Man  is  both  spiritual  and 
natural,  while  a  beast  is  not  spiritual  but  natura 
Man  has  a  will  and  an  understanding,  and  his  will 
is  a  receptacle  of  the  heat  of  heaven,  which  is  love 
and  his  understanding  is  a  receptacle  of  the  light  of 
heaven,  which  is  wisdom.     But  a  beast  does  not 
possess  a  will  and  an  understanding,  but  in  place 
of  a  will  it  has  affeaion,  and  in  place  of  an  under- 
standing  it  has  knowledge. 

In  man  the  will  and  understanding  are  capable 
of  aaing  as  one  or  not  aaing  as  one  ;  for  a  man 
can  think  from  his  understanding  what  does  not 
belong  to  his  will,  for  he  can  think  what  he  does 
not  will,  and  conversely.  But  in  a  beast  affeaion 
and  knowledge  make  one  and  cannot  be  separated  ; 
for  a  beast  knows  what  belongs  to  its  affeaion  and 
is  affeaed  by  what  belongs  to  its  knowledge.  And 
because  in  a  beast  these  two  faculties,  called  know- 
ledge  and  affeaion,  cannot  be  separated,  the  beasts 
have  not  been  able  to  destroy  the  order  of  their  life  ; 


?nd  for  the  same  reason  they  are  born  into  all  the 
knowledge  belonging  to  their  affeaion. 

In  man  it  is  otherwise.  His  two  capacities  for 
life,  which  are  called  understanding  and  will,  can 
be  separated,  as  has  been  said,  therefore  he  has  the 
ability  to  destroy  the  order  of  his  life  by  thinking 
contrary  to  his  will  and  willing  contrary  to  his  un- 
derstanding, and  in  this  way  he  has  destroyed  it. 
For  this  reason  man  is  born  into  mere  ignorance, 
that  he  may  be  led  out  of  it  into  order  through 
knowledges  by  means  of  his  understanding. 

The  order  into  which  man  was  created  is  to 
love  God  above  all  things  and  the  neighbor  as  him- 
self, and  the  state  into  which  man  has  come  since  he 
destroyed  that  order   is   loving  himself  above  all 
things  and  the  world  as  himself.    Since  man  has  a 
spiritual  mind,  which  is   above   his  natural  mind, 
and  his  spiritual  mind  is  able  to  contemplate  such 
things  as  pertain  to  heaven  and  the  church,  as  well 
as  such  things  as  pertain  to  the  state  in  respea  to 
morals  and  legislation,  and  all  these  have  reference 
to  truths  and  goods,  which  are  called  spiritual, 
moral,  and  civil,  with  the  natural  things  pertaining 
to  knowledges,  and   also  have  reference   to  their 
opposites,  which  are   falsities  and  evils,  for  this 
reason  man  is  able  both  to  think  analytically  and 
draw  conclusions  and  also  to  receive  influx  through 
heaven  from  the  Lord,  and  become  intelligent  and 
wise.    This  no  beast  is  capable  of.     What  a  beast 
knows  is  not  from  any  understanding,  but  is  from 
the  knowledge  that  belongs  to  its  affeaion,  which 
is  its  soul.    Knowledge  belonging  to  affeaion  must 


II  i 


192 


ANIMAL   AND    VEGETABLE    LIFE. 


be  in  every  thing  spiritual,  because  the  spiritual  that 
goes  forth  from  the  Lord  as  a  sun  is  light  united 
to  heat,  or  wisdom  united  to  love,  and  knowledge 
is  cf  wisdom,  and  affeaion  is  of  love,  in  the  degree 
that  is  called  natural. 

Because  man  has  both  a  spiritual  mind  and  a 
natural  mind,  and  his  spiritual  mind  is  above  his 
natural  mind,  and  the  spiritual  mind  is  such  as  to 
be  able  to  contemplate  and  love,  truths  and  goods 
in  every  degree,  either  conjointly  with  the  natural 
mind  or  abstraded  from  it,  it  follows  that  the  in- 
teriors of  man  belonging  to  each  mind  are  capable 
of  being  raised  up  by  the  Lord  to  the  Lord  and  of 
being  conjoined  to   Him  ;    and  this  is  why  every 
man  lives  eternally.     This  is  not  so  with  beasts. 
A  beast  does  not  possess  any  spiritual  mind,  it  has 
only  a  natural  mind  ;   and  therefore  its  interiors, 
which  belong  solely  to  knowledge  and  affedlion,  can 
not  be  raised  up  by  the  Lord  and  conjoined  to  Him, 
and  for  this  reason  a  beast  does  not  live  after  death. 
A  beast  indeed  is  led  by  a  sort  of  spiritual  influx 
falling  into  its  soul ;  but  since  its  spiritual  is  inca- 
pable  of  being  elevated  it  can  only  be  determined 
downwards,  and  can  look  only  to  such  things  as 
belong  to  its  affeaion.  which  have  reference  solely 
to  what  pertains  to  nourishment,  habitation,  and 
propagation ;  and  it  can  know  these  only  from  the 
knowledge  pertaining  to  its  affeaion  by  means  of 
light,  odor,  and   taste.     Because  man   is  able  by 
virtue  of  his  spiritual  mind  to  think  rationally,  he  is 
also  able  to  speak,  for  to  speak  belongs  to  thought 
from  the  understanding,  which  is  able  to  see  truths 


^mmmmmmmtm 


:i»l 


MEN   AND    BEASTS. 


193 


in  spiritual  light.  But  a  beast,  which  has  no  thought 
from  understanding,  but  only  knowledge  from  affec- 
tion, is  only  able  to  utter  sounds,  and  to  vary  the 

sound  of  its  affeaion  according  to  its  appetites 
{A.E.,  n.  1202.) 


n^ 


194 


ANIMAL   AND   VEGETABLE    LIFE. 


V. 


The  Plant  Soul. 

Something  shall  now  be  said  about  the  vegeta- 
ble  kingdom,  and  its  soul,  which  is  called  the  plant 
soul     That  this,  too,  is  spiritual  the  world  has  not 
known.     By  the  plant  soul  is  meant  the  tendency 
and  effort  to  produce  a  plant  from  its  seed  progres- 
sively even  to  new  seeds,  and  thereby  to  multiply 
itself  to  infinity,  and  to  propagate  itself  to  eternity  ; 
for  there  is  as  it  were  in  every  plant  an  idea  of  what 
is  infinite  and  eternal ;  for  a  single  seed  can  be  so 
multiplied  during  a  certain  number  of  years  as 
to  fill  the  whole  earth,  and  can  also  be  propagated 
from  seed   to   seed  without   end.     This,  with  the 
wonderful  process  of  growth  from  the  root  mto  a 
sprout,  then  into  a  stalk,  also  into  branches,  leaves 
flowers,  fruits,  even  into  new  seeds,  is  not  a  natural 
but  a   spiritual  power.     Likewise,  plants  have  in 
many  respeds  a  relation  to  such  things  as  belong 
to  the  animal  kingdom,  as  that  they  spnng  from 
seed,  in  which  there  is  as  it  were  a  prolific  power, 
they  produce  a  sprout  like  an  infant,  a  stalk  like 
a  body,  branches  like  arms,  a  top  like  a  head,  barks 
like  skins,  leaves  like  lungs,  they  grow  in  years, 
and  afterwards  blossom  like  maidens  before  their 


THE   PLANT   SOUL. 


195 


nuptials,  and  after  these  they  expand  like  wombs  or 
eggs,  and  bring  forth  fruit  like  offspring,  in  which 
are  contained  new  seeds,  from  which,  as  in  the  ani- 
mal kingdom,  spring  new  prolifications  or  frucflifi- 
cations  of  the  same  kind  or  stock.  These  and 
many  other  things  that  are  observed  by  those  skilled 
in  the  botanic  art  who  have  traced  a  parallel  be- 
tween the  two  kingdoms,  indicate  that  the  tendency 
and  effort  to  such  things  are  not  from  the  natural 
world  but  from  the  spiritual.  That  the  living  force 
as  the  principal  cause  is  the  spiritual,  and  that  the 
dead  force  as  the  instrumental  cause  is  the  natural, 
will  be  seen  in  what  follows.    {A.E.,  n.  1203.^ 

How  the  spiritual  flows  in  and  ads  upon  plants 
and  produces  such  a  tendency,  effort,  and  adion, 
cannot  be  comprehended  by  any  understanding, 
unless  the  following  are  first  explained : 

(l.)  Nothing  in  nature  comes  forth  and  continues 
to  exist  except  from  the  spiritual  and 
by  means  of  it. 

(2.)  Nature  in  itself  is  dead,  being  created  that 
the  spiritual  may  be  clothed  by  it  with 
forms  that  may  serve  for  use,  and  thus 
may  be  terminated. 

<3.)  There  are  two  general  forms,  the  spiritual 
and  the  natural;  the  spiritual  is  such 
as*  belongs  to  animals,  and  the  natural 
is  such  as  belongs  to  vegetables. 

(4.)  In  every  thing  spiritual  there  are  three  forces^ 
an  a(flive  force,  a  creative  forcCy  and  a 
formative  force. 

(5.)  From  the  spiritual  by  means  of  these  forces 
both  plants  and  animals,  both  those  seen 


196  ANIMAL   AND    VEGETABLE    LIFE. 

in  heaven  and  those  in  the  worlds  have 

their  existence. 
(6.)    These  two  classes  have  the  same  origin  and 

thus  the  same  soul,  the  difference  being 

only  in  the  forms  into  which  the  injiux 

flows. 
(7.)   And  that  otigin  is  use. 

Until  these  propositions  are  explained,  the  cause 
of  so  many  wonderful  effecfts  in  the  vegetable  king- 
dom cannot  be  seen  by  the  understanding.  {A.E.>- 
n.  1204.} 


NATURE   THE   REALM    OF   EFFECTS.  197 


VI. 


Nature  the  Realm  of  Effects. 

Nothing  in  nature  comes  forth  and  continues  to 
exist  except  from  the  spintual  and  by  means  of  it. 

The  reason  of  this  is  that  nothing  can  come 
forth  except  from  another,  and  so  finally  from  Him 
who  has  bemg  and  existence  in  Himself,  who  is 
God  ;   wherefore  God  is  called  Esse  and  Existere, 
Jah  from  Esse  and  Jehovah  from  Esse  and  Existere 
m  Himself.     Nothing  in  nature  comes  forth  except 
from  the  spiritual,  because  nothing  is  possible  with- 
out  a  soul.     All  that  is  called  soul  which  is  essence, 
for  that  which  has  in  itself  no  essence  has  no  exis- 
tence, for  it  is  a  non-entity,  since  there  is  no  esse 
from  which  it  comes  forth.     Thus  it  is  with  nature. 
Its  essence  from  which  it  comes  forth  is  the  spirit- 
ual, because  this  has  in  itself  the  Divine  Esse,  and 
also  the   Divine  adive,  creative,   and   formktive 
force,  as  will  be  seen  in  what  follows. 

Moreover,  this  essence  may  be  called  soul.  For 
every  thing  spiritual  is  living,  and  what  is  living 
when  it  ads  into  what  is  not  living,  as  for  instance 
into  the  natural,  causes  it  either  as  it  were  to  be 
living,  or  to  draw  somewhat  of  appearance  from 
what  is  living.  This  latter  is  true  of  plants,  the 
former  of  animals. 


igS 


ANIMAL   AND   VEGETABLE   LIFE. 


Nothing  in  nature  comes  forth  except  from  the 
spiritual,  because  no  ef!ed  is  possible  without  a 
cause.     Whatever  comes  forth  in  eflfea  is  from  a 
cause  ;  what  is  not  from  a  cause  is  separated.    Thus 
it  is  with  nature.     Its  particular  and  most  partic- 
ular parts  are  effeds  from  a  cause  which  is  prior, 
interior,  and  superior  to  the  effed,  and  which  is 
immediately  from  God.     For  there  is   a  spiritual 
world ;   and  that  world  is  prior,  interior,  and  su- 
perior to    the   natural  world,  consequently   every 
thing  in  the  spiritual  world  is  a  cause,  and  every 
thing  in  the  natural  world  is  an  effed.     Even  in 
the  natural  world   one    thing   comes  forth  from 
another  in  a  progression,  but  this  is  done  through 
causes  from    the    spiritual  world,  for    where  the 
cause  of  the  effecfl  is  there  also  is  the  cause  of  the 
eflfeding  effed  ;  for  every  effecfl  becomes  an  effect- 
ing cause  in  order  even  to  the  outmost,  where  the 
effedlive  force  has  permanent  existence  ;  but  this 
is  effed^ed  continually  from  the  spiritual,  in  which 
alone    is    that   force.     This,  therefore,  is   what    is 
meant  by  nothing  in  nature  coming  forth  except 
from  the  spiritual,  and  dy  means  of  it. 

In  nature  there  are  two  mediate  causes  by 
means  of  which  every  effed,  that  is,  every  pro- 
duction and  formation  there,  is  accomplished. 
These  mediate  causes  are  light  and  heat.  Light 
modifies  substances  and  the  heat  moves  them,  each 
from  the  presence  of  the  sun  in  them.  The  pres- 
ence of  the  sun  that  is  manifested  as  light  causes 
an  acftivity  of  the  forces  or  substances  of  every 
atom  according  to  the  form  that  it  has  from  crea- 


NATURE   THE   REALM    OF   EFFECTS.  199 

tion.  This  is  modification.  The  presence  of  the 
sun  that  is  perceived  as  heat  spreads  apart  the 
atoms,  and  produces  the  ading  and  eflfeding  force 
according  to  their  form,  by  moving  the  conatus  that 
they  have  from  creation.  This  conatus,  which  be- 
comes by  means  of  heat  the  ading  force  even  in 
the  minutest  forms  of  nature,  is  from  the  spiritual 
actmg  in  them  and  into  them.    [a.E.,  n.  ,206 ) 


200 


ANIMAL   AND   VEGETABLE   LIFE. 


VII. 


Nature  in  Itself  dead. 


Nature  in  itself  is  dead,  being  created  in  order  that 
the  spiritual  may  be  clothed  by  it  with  forms  that  may 
serve  for  use,  and  thus  may  be  terminated. 

Nature  and  life  are  two  distin<5l  things.  Na- 
ture has  its  beginning  in  the  sun  of  this  world, 
and  life  has  its  beginning  in  the  sun  of  heaven. 
The  sun  of  the  world  is  pure  fire,  and  the  sun 
of  heaven  is  pure  love.  That  which  goes  forth 
from  the  sun  that  is  pure  fire  is  called  nature  ; 
and  that  which  goes  forth  from  the  sun  that  is  pure 
love  is  called  life.  That  which  goes  forth  from 
pure  fire  is  dead,  but  that  which  goes  forth  from 
pure  love  is  living.  This  shows  that  nature  in 
itself  is  dead.  That  nature  is  serviceable  in  clothing 
the  spiritual  is  manifest  from  the  fact  that  the  souls 
of  beasts,  which  are  spiritual  affections  are  clothed 
with  materials  that  exist  in  the  world.  That  their 
bodies,  as  well  as  the  bodies  of  men,  are  material, 
is  well  known. 

The  spiritual  is  capable  of  being  clothed  by  the 
material,  because  all  things  that  have  existence 
in  the  world  of  natur6,  atmospheric,  aqueous,  or 
earthy,  in  respect  to  every  atom  thereof,  are  effects 


nature  in  itself  dead. 


20 1 


produced  by  the  spiritual  as  a  cause,  and  the  effects 
act  as  one  with  the  cause  and  wholly  in  agreement 
with  it,  according  to  this  axiom,  that  nothing 
comes  forth  in  effect  that  is  not  in  the  cause.  But 
there  is  this  difference,  that  the  cause  is  a  living 
force  because  it  is  spiritual,  while  the  effect  is  a 
dead  force  because  it  is  natural.  This  is  the  rea- 
son why  such  things  exist  in  the  natural  world  as 
wholly  agree  with  those  in  the  spiritual  world,  and 
why  the  two  can  be  closely  conjoined.  And  these 
are  the  reasons  for  saying  that  nature  was  created 
in  order  that  by  it  the  spiritual  might  be  clothed 
with  forms  that  might  serve  for  use. 

That  nature  was  created  in  order  that  the  spirit- 
ual might  be  terminated  in  it  follows  from  what 
has  been  said,  that  the  things  in  the  spiritual  world 
are  causes,  and  those   in    the   natural  world  are 
effects.     Effects  are  terminations.     Where  there  is 
a  first  there  must  always  be  a  last,  and  as  every- 
thing intermediate  from  the  first  comes  forth  to- 
gether in  the  last,  the  work  of  creation  is  perfected 
in  things  last  (or  outmost).     For  this  end  the  sun 
of  the  world  was  created,  and  nature  by  means  of 
the  sun,  and  finally  the  terraqueous  globe,  in  order 
that  there  might  be  outmost  materials  into  which 
every  thing  spiritual  might  close,  and  in  which  cre- 
ation  might   have  permanent  existence  ;   also  in 
order  that  the  work  of  creation  might  continually 
persist  and  endure,  which  is  effected  through  the 
generations  of  men  and  animals  and  the  germina- 
tions of  plants  ;  also  in  order  that  all  things  might 
thus  return  to  their  First  source,  which  is  effected 


202 


ANIMAL   AND    VEGETABLE    LIFE, 


through  man.  That  intermediates  come  forth  to- 
gether in  outmosts  is  evident  from  the  axiom  that 
there  is  nothing  in  the  eflfect  that  is  not  in  the  cause, 
thus  from  a  continuity  of  causes  and  effects  from 
the  First  even  to  the  outmost.    {a.£„  n.  1207.) 


THE  ANIMAL  FORM   AND  PLANT   FORM.      203 


VIII. 

The  Animal  Form  and  ihk  Plant  Form. 

T/i^re  are  two  general  forms,  the  spiritual  and 
the  natural;  the  spiritual  is  such  as  belongs  to  ani- 
mals,  and  the  natural  is  such  as  belongs  to  plants. 

This  is  why  all  things  of  nature,  except  the 
sun,  moon,  and  the  atmospheres,  constitute  three 
kmgdoms,  the  animal,  the  vegetable,  and  the  min- 
eral ;  and  the  mineral  kingdom  is  simply  a  store- 
house,  in  which  are  contained  and  from  which  are 
taken  the  things  of  which  the  forms  of  the  two 
other  kingdoms,  the  animal  and  the  vegetable  are 
composed.  ' 

The  forms  of  the  animal  kingdom,  which  are 
called  m  a  smgle  word  animals,  are  all  in  accord 
with  the  flow  of  spiritual  substances  and  forces  • 
and  from  the  conatus  that  is  in  these  forms  this 
flow  tends  to  the  human  form,  and  to  each  and  all 
thmgs  of  it  from  head  to  heel ;  thus  it  tends  in 
general  to  produce  organs  of  sense  and  organs 
of  motion,  also  organs  of  nutrition  and  organs  of 
prohfication.  For  this  reason  the  entire  heaven  is 
m  such  a  form,  and  all  angels  and  spirits  are  in 
such  a  form,  and  men  on  the  earth  are  in  such  a 
form,  and  all  beasts,  birds,  and  fishes,  for  all  these 
have  like  organs. 

This  animal  form  derives  its  conatus  to  such 


ferlWifttlliaimnf 


204 


ANIMAL   AND    VEGETABLE   LIFE. 


things  from  the  First  from  whom  all  things  are, 
who  is  God,  because  He  is  the  Man.  This  cona- 
tus  and  consequent  determination  of  all  spiritual 
forces  can  be  given  and  come  forth  from  no  other 
source,  for  it  is  given  in  things  greatest  and  in 
things  least,  in  first  things  and  in  last  things,  in 
the  spiritual  world  and  therefrom  in  the  natural 
world  ;  but  with  a  difference  of  perfection  accord- 
ing to  degrees. 

But  the  other  form,  which  is  a  natural  form, 
and  which  is  the  form  of  all  plants,  has  its  origin 
in  the  conatus  and  consequent  fiow  of  natural 
forces,  which  are  atmospheres,  and  are  called 
ethers  ;  and  in  these  this  conatus  is  present  from 
that  determination  of  spiritual  forces  which  is  in 
the  animal  form,  and  from  the  continual  operation 
of  spiritual  forces  into  natural  forces,  which  are 
ethers,  and  through  these  into  materials  of  the 
earth,  of  which  plants  are  composed.  That  its 
origin  is  such  is  clear  from  what  has  been  said 
above  that  a  certain  semblance  of  the  animal  form 
is  evident  in  them. 

That  all  things  of  nature  strive  after  that  form, 

and  that  the  ethers  have  impressed  upon  them  and 

so  implanted  in  them  from  a  spiritual  an  effort  to 

produce  that  form,  is  evident  from  many  things  ; 

as  from  all  vegetation  on  the  surface  of  the  whole 

earth,  also  from  the  vegetation  of   minerals  into 

such  forms  in  mines,  where  openings  exist,  also 

from  the  vegetation  of  cretaceous  substances  into 

corals  in  the  depths  of  the  sea,  and  even  from  the 

forms   of   snowtiakes   that   emulate   plant   forms. 
{A.E.,  n.  1208.) 


THE    THREE    FORCES. 


205 


IX. 


The  Three  Forces. 

/«  everything  sphitual  there  are  three  forces,  an 
^^^^;^  force,  a  creative  force,  and  a  formative  force. 
The  aaive  force,  because  it  is  spiritual,  goes 
forth  from  the  fountain  of  all  forces,  which  is  the 
sun  of  heaven,  and  that  is  the  Lord's  Divine  love 
and  love  IS  the  active  itself,  from  which  the  living 
force  which  is  life  goes  forth. 

The  creative  force   is   the  force  that  produces 
causes   and   eflfeas  from  beginning  to   end,  and 
reaches  from  the    First  through  intermediates  to 
the  last.     The  First  is  the  sun   of  heaven  itself, 
which  IS  the  Lord ;  intermediates  are  things  spir- 
itual, afterwards  things  natural,  also  things  terres- 
trial,  from  which  finally  are  producflions.     And  as 
in  the  creation  of  the  universe  that  force  proceded 
from  the  First  to  the  last,  so  afterwards  it  proceeds 
in  like  manner  in  order  that  productions  may  be 
continual  ;    otherwise   they   would   fail.     For   the 
First  continually  regards  the  last  as  an  end  ;  and 
unless  the  First  looked  to  the  last  continually  from 
Itself  through  intermediates  according  to  the  or- 
der of  creation,  all   things  would  perish ;    there- 
fore  productions,   which   are  especially  animals 


206 


ANIMAL   AND  VEGETABLE   LIFE. 


and  plants,  are  continuations  of  creation.  It  does 
not  matter  that  the  continuations  are  effected  by 
seeds,  it  is  still  the  same  creative  force  that  pro- 
duces. Moreover,  it  is  according  to  the  observa- 
tion of  some  that  certain  [new]  seeds  are  yet 
being  produced. 

The  formative  force  is  the  outmost  force  [acting] 
by  things  outmost,  for  it  is  the  force  that  produces 
animals  and  plants  from  the  outmost  materials 
of  nature,  which  are  collected  on  our  globe.  The 
forces  that  are  in  nature  from  its  origin,  which  is 
the  sun  of  the  world,  are  not  living  forces  but  dead 
forces.  These  do  not  differ  from  the  forces  of  heat 
in  man  and  animal,  which  keep  the  body  in  such 
a  state  that  the  will  by  means  of  affection,  and  the 
understanding  by  means  of  thought,  which  are 
spiritual,  can  flow  in  and  do  their  work  in  it. 
They  do  not  differ  from  the  forces  of  light  in  the 
eye,  which  simply  cause  the  mind,  which  is  spirit- 
ual, to  see  by  means  of  its  organ,  the  eye.  Nothing 
is  seen  by  the  light  of  the  world,  but  the  mind 
sees  by  the  light  of  heaven.  The  same  is  true 
of  plants.  He  that  believes  that  the  heat  and 
light  of  the  sun  of  the  world  do  anything  more 
than  to  so  open  and  dispose  the  things  proper  to 
nature  that  they  may  receive  influx  from  the  spir- 
itual world  is  very  much  deceived.    [A.E.,  n.  1209.) 


HOW  THESE   FORCES   ACT. 


207 


X 


How  These  Forces  act. 

From    the   spiritual,  by   means   of  these  forces 

tif  "''•  '"f  ''"'"^^'^'  ''''  ^^-- --  -  /--'  « 
and  those  tn  the  world,  have  their  existence. 

buch    thmgs    exist    also    in    heaven,    because 

these  forces  are  in  the  spiritual  in  its  things  great! 

est  and  thmgs   east,  in  its  things  first  and  last^hus 

m  the  spiritual  both  in  heaven  and  in  the  world 

worfj      For'.h"  '''  'T'"^'  "^  ^"^'^  ^^^  ^^  ^^e 
A        u  .     ^^^'^  ^'^  ^^^"^^^  «^  spiritual  things 
and  each  degree  is  distin^  from  the  other,  and  the 
former  or  higher  degree  is  more  perfe^    han  the 

heat  m  the  heavens,  and  from  the  wisdom  of  the 
angels  from  these^     Light  in  the  highest  or  third 
heaven  is  from  a  flame  so  brilliant  as  to  exceed  a 
thousand  times  the  midday  light  of  the  world-   in 
the  middle   or   second   heaven    the  light   is   less 
bright,  and  yet  exceeds  a  hundred  times  the  noon- 
day light  of  the  world  ;  in  the  lowest  or  first  heaven 
the  hght  IS  hke  the  noonday  light  of  our  worid 
Also  there  are  degrees  of  heat,  which  m  heaven  is 
love,  and  according  to  those  degrees  the  angels 
have  wisdom,  intelligence,  and  knowledge.    Every 


208 


ANIMAL   AND   VEGETABLE   LIFE. 


thing  spiritual  belongs  to  the  light  and  heat  that 
are  from  the  Lord  as  a  sun,  and  wisdom  and  intel- 
ligence are  from  these. 

There  are  also  as  many  degrees  of  things  spir- 
itual below  the  heavens,  that  is,  in  nature,  which 
are  lower  degrees  of  things  spiritual,  as  can  be 
seen  from  man's  natural  mind,  and  from  its  ration- 
ality and  sensuality  ;  rational  men  are  in  its  first 
degree,  sensual  men  are  in  its  last,  and  others  are 
in  the  middle  ;  and  all  thought  and  affedion  of  the 
natural  mind  is  spiritual. 

These  three  forces,  namely,  the  a<5live  force, 
the  creative  force,  and  the  formative  force,  are  in 
the  spiritual  in  every  degree  of  it,  but  with  a  dif- 
ference of  perfedlion.  But  since  there  is  nothing 
without  its  outmost,  in  which  it  terminates  and 
has  permanent  existence,  so  the  spiritual  has  its 
outmost,  which  is  on  our  globe,  in  its  lands  and 
waters  ;  and  from  this  outmost  the  spiritual  brings 
forth  plants  of  all  kinds,  from  the  tree  to  the  blade 
of  grass,  and  in  these  the  spiritual  abides,  mani- 
festing itself  only  in  a  certain  likeness  to  animals 
that  has  been  spoken  of  above.    {A.E.,  n.  1210.) 

In  the  heavens,  as  on  the  earth,  there  are 
plants  of  all  genera  and  species;  and  in  the 
heavens  there  are  also  plants  that  are  not  on  the 
earth,  for  there  are  composite  forms  of  the  differ- 
ent genera  and  species  with  infinite  variation. 
This  they  derive  from  their  origin,  of  which  below. 
The  genera  and  species  of  the  plants  differ  in  the 
heavens  as  the  genera  and  species  of  animals  do, 
of  which  above. 


HOW    THESE   FORCES   ACT. 


209 


Accordmg   to   the   degrees  of  light  and  heat 
there  pleasure-gardens,  groves,  fields,  and  plains 
are  seen  ;  and  in  these  groups  of  trees  and  flowers 
and  open  lawns.     In  the  inmost  or  third  heaven 
especially  there   are   orchards  whose  fruits   drop 
oils  ;  beds  of  flowers  from  which  fragrant  odors  are 
spread  abroad,  and  the  seeds  of  which  are  sweet 
to  the  taste  from  the  fragrance  and  the  oil ;  and 
there  are  lawns  diffusing  like  odors.     In  the' mid- 
dle or  second  heaven  there  are  orchards  whose 
fruits  drop  wine ;  and  flower-beds  and  also  lawns 
from  which  exhale  pleasant  odors,  with  seeds  ot 
delicate  flavor.     In  the  lowest  or  first  heaven  there 
are  the  same  things  as  in  the  inmost  and  in  the 
middle  heaven,  with  a  difference  of  delights  and 
charms  according  to  degrees. 

Moreover,  in  the  inmost  heaven  there  are  fruits 
and  seeds  of  pure  gold,  in  the  middle  heaven  of 
silver,  and  in  the  lowest  heaven  of  copper  ;  there 
are  also  flowers  of  precious  stones  and  of  crystals. 
All  these  spring  from  the  lands  there.     There,  as 
with  us,  there  are  lands  ;   but  nothing  springs  up 
from  seed  sown,  but  only  from  seed  created  ;  and 
creation  there  is  instantaneous,  sometimes  endur- 
ing for  a   long  time   and  sometimes  only  for  a 
moment ;  for  things  have  existence  there  by  means 
of  the  forces  of  light  and  heat  from  the  sun  of 
heaven,  which   is   the  Lord,  and  apart  from  the 
forces  that  serve  as  substitutes  and  aids  from  the 
light  and  heat  from  the  sun  of  the  worid.     This 
is  why  the  matters  in  the  lands  of  our  globe  are 
fixed,  and  the  germinations  are  permanent ;  while 


2IO 


ANIMAL    AND    VEGETABLE    LIFE. 


the  matters  of  substances  in  the  lands  that  are 
in  the  heavens  are  not  fixed,  and  consequently 
the  germinations  from  them  are  not  permanent. 
There  all  things  are  spiritual  with  a  natural 
appearance ;  but  in  the  lands  that  are  subjedl  to 
the  sun  of  our  world  it  is  not  so. 

These  things  have  been  mentioned  to  show 
that  in  everything  spiritual,  both  in  heaven  and 
in  the  world,  and  both  in  the  firsts  and  in  the 
outmosts,  there  are  these  three  forces,  namely,  the 
adiive  force,  the  creative  force,  and  the  formative 
force  ;  and  that  these  forces  proceed  continually 
to  their  outmosts.  in  which  they  close  and  have 
permanent  existence  ;  and  for  this  reason  there 
are  lands  also  in  the  heavens,  for  the  lands  there 
are  these  forces  in  outmosts.  There  is  this  differ- 
ence, that  the  lands  there  are  spiritual  from  their 
origin,  but  here  they  are  natural ;  and  the  pro- 
ducflions  from  our  lands  are  effe(fled  from  the 
spiritual  by  means  of  nature,  but  in  those  lands 
without  nature.    [.A.E.,  n.  1211.; 


THE   ORIGIN    OF   ANIMALS   AND    PLANTS.      211 


XI. 


The  Origin  of  Ani.mals  and  Plants. 


T//<'se  two  classes,  animals  and  plants^  have  the 
same  origin,  and  thus  the  same  soul,  the  difference 
Seing  only  in  the  forms  into  which  the  influx  flows. 

It  has  been  shown  above   that   the   origin  of 
animals,  which  also  is  their  soul,  is  spiritual  affec- 
tion, such  as  man  has  in  his  natural.     That  plants 
have  the   same  origin  is  evident  especially  from 
plants  in  the  heavens,  in  their  appearing  according 
to  the  afTe(flions  of  angels,  and  representing  those 
afifedions,  even  so  that  the  angels  see  their  affec- 
tions in  them  as  in  their  types,  and  learn  what  they 
are ;  also  that  they  are  changed  as  the  affedions 
change;   but  this  occurs  outside  of  the  societies. 
The  only  difference  is  that  affe(5lions  appear  formed 
into  animals  by  the  spiritual  in   its  intermediate 
parts,  while  they  appear  formed  into  plants  in  its 
outmost  parts,  which  are  the  lands  there.     For  the 
spiritual,  which  is  their  source,  is  living  in  its  inter- 
mediates, but   is  not  living   in   its  outmosts.     In 
outmosts  the  spiritual  retains  no  more  of  life  than 
is  sufficient  to   produce   a   resemblance  of  being 
alive.     It  is   nearly   the  same   as  in   the  human 
body,  the  outmosts  of  which,  that  are  produced  by 
the    spiritual,    are    cartilages,   benes,    teeth,   and 


212 


ANIMAL   AND    VEGETABLE    LIFE. 


nails,  and  in  these  what  is  living,  which  is  from 
the  soul,  terminates. 

That  the  plant  soul  has  the  same  origin  as  the 
soul  of  the  beasts  of  the  earth  and  of  the  birds  of 
heaven  and  of  the[ fishes  of  the  sea  does  not  appear 
to  be  true  at  first  sight,  for  the  reason  that  the  one 
is  a  living  thing  and  the  other  is  not,  nevertheless 
it  becomes  plainly  evident  from  the  animals  and 
the  plants  seen  in  the  heavens,  and  also  from  those 
seen  in  the  hells.  In  the  heavens  beautiful  ani- 
mals and  like  plants  are  seen  ;  but  in  the  hells  nox- 
ious animals  and  like  plants  ;  and  angels  and  spirits 
are  known  from  the  way  the  animals  appear,  and 
equally  from  the  way  the  plants  appear.  The 
agreement  with  the  affecflions  of  the  angels  and 
spirits  is  so  complete  that  an  animal  can  be  changed 
into  a  corresponding  plant,  and  a  plant  into  a  cor- 
responding animal. 

The  angels  of  heaven  know  what  element  of 
affection  is  represented  in  the  one  and  in  the  other  ; 
and  I  have  heard,  and  even  perceived,  that  it  is 
the  same.  Moreover,  it  has  been  granted  me  to 
discern  clearly  the  correspondence  both  of  animals 
and  of  plants  with  the  societies  of  heaven  and 
with  the  societies  of  hell,  thus  with  their  affec- 
tions, for  in  the  spiritual  world  societies  and  af- 
fections make  one.  This  is  why  in  so  many  places 
in  the  Word  gardens,  groves,  forests,  trees,  and 
plants  of  various  kinds,  are  mentioned,  and  why 
they  have  there  a  spiritual  signification  according 
to  their  origins,  all  of  which  have  reference  to 
affections. 


THE   ORIGIN   OF   ANIMALS   AND    PLANTS.        213 

The  difiference,  therefore,  between  the  plants 

world  IS  that  m  the  spiritual  world  both  their  seeds 
and  their  germinations  come  forth  in  an  instant 
according  to    the   affections    of    the   angels   and 
spirits  there;  but  in  the  natural  world  the  origin  is 
implanted  in   the  seeds,  from  which  they  spring 
each  year.     Moreover,  there  are  two  things  proper 
to   nature,  time   and  consequent  succession,  and 
space  and  consequent  extension,  but  these  do  not 
exist  m  the  spiritual  world  as  properties  of  it.  but 
m  their  place  are  appearances  of  the  states  of  life 
of  those  there;   and  this  is  why  from  the  lands 
there,  which  are   from   a   spiritual  origin,  plants 
spnng  up  mstantly  and  disappear  instantly.     But 
his  occurs   only   when    the  angels  go  away  ;   as 
ong  as  they  remain  the  plants  continue.     This  is 
the  difference  between  plants  in  the  spiritual  world 
and  plants  in  the  natural  world,    iae   n  1212) 


214 


ANIMAL   AND   VEGETABLE   LIFE. 


XII. 

Use  the  Origin. 

That  origin  is  use. — This  is  because  aflfecflions 
have  reference  to  uses ;  use  is  the  subje(5t  of  all 
affe(5lion,  for  man  cannot  be  aflfedled  except  for 
the  sake  of  something,  and  that  something  is  use. 
Since,  then,  all  affed^ion  supposes  use.  and  the 
plant  soul,  from  its  spiritual  origin,  is  an  affection, 
as  has  been  said,  it,  too,  is  a  use.  For  this  reason 
every  plant  contains  a  use,  a  spiritual  use  in  the 
spiritual  world,  and  both  a  spiritual  and  a  natural 
use  in  the  natural  world.  The  spiritual  use  is  for 
the  various  states  of  the  mind,  and  the  natural  use 
is  for  the  various  states  of  the  body.  It  is  well 
known  that  minds  are  refreshed,  recreated,  and 
stimulated,  or  on  the  other  hand  that  drowsiness, 
sadness,  or  fainting  is  induced,  by  the  odors  and 
and  flavors  of  different  kinds  of  plants  ;  also  that 
the  body  is  healed  by  the  various  solutions,  purga- 
tions, and  remedies  made  from  plants,  and  on  the 
other  hand,  is  destroyed  by  the  poisons  extracted 
from  them. 

In  the  heavens  the  external  spiritual  use  de- 
rived from  them  is  the  refreshment  of  minds,  and 
the  internal  is  the  representation  of  Divine  things 


USE  the  origin. 


215 


in  them,  and  thereby  also  the  elevation  of  the  mind 
For  the  wiser  angels  see  in  them  the  quality  of 
their  affections  in  a  series.     These,  with  what  lies 
hidden  m  them,  are  manifested  in  the  varieties  of 
flowers  in  their  order,  also  in  the  variegations  of 
color   and    odor.      For    every    outmost   affection 
which   ,s  called  natural,  although   it  is   spiritual, 
derives  its  quality  from  an  interior  affeaion,  which 
pertains   to   intelligence  and   wisdom,   and  these 
derive  their  quality  from  use  and  the  love  of  it 
In  a  word,  from  the  soil  in  the  heavens  nothing 
but  use  blooms  forth,  for  use  is  the  plant  soul 

Because  use  is  the  plant  soul,  in  those  places 
in  the  spiritual  world  that  are  called  deserts,  where 
those  are  who  in  the  world  had  rejected  works  of 
charity,  which  are  essential  uses,  no  grass  or  herb 
of  any  kind  is  seen,  but  mere  gravel  and  sand 
livery  good  in  act  that  is  from  the  Lord  through 
love  to   Him  and  love  towards  the  neighbor  is 
meant  by  the  uses  that  alone  blossom  forth  in  the 
heavens.     Every  plant  there  represents  a  form  of 
use ;  and  whatever  is  seen  in  it,  from  its  first  to  its 
last  and  from  its  last  to  its  first,  that  is,  from  seed 
to  flower  and  from  flower  to  seed,  exhibits  the  pro- 
gression  or  extension  from  end  to  end  of  an  affec 
tion  and  of  its  use.     Those  that  are  skilled  in  the 
sciences  of  botany,  chemistry,  medicine,  and  phar- 
macy, come  after  death  into  a  knowledge  of  spir- 
itual  uses  from  the  plants  in  the  spiritual  world 
and  cultivate  that  knowledge  and  find  the  great- 
est delight  in  it.     I  have  talked  with  such  and  have 
heard  from  them  wonderful  things.    [^  e.  ^  ,214) 


2l6 


ANIMAL   AND    VEGETABLE   LIFE. 


From  all  that  has  thus  far  been  presented  re- 
specting the  life  that  is  from  the  Lord  and  the  ex- 
istence of  all  things  in  the  universe  from  it,  every 
one  who  is  wise  in  heart  can  see  that  nature  pro- 
duces nothing  from  itself,  but  merely  in  the  process 
of  production  serves  the  spiritual  that  goes  forth 
from  the  sun  of  heaven,  which  is  the  Lord,  as  an  in- 
strumental cause  serves  its  principal  cause,  or  as  a 
dead  force  serves  its  living  force.   This  makes  clear 
how  mistaken  those  arc  who  ascribe  the  genera- 
tions of  animals  and  the  productions  of  plants  to  na- 
ture. This  is  the  same  as  ascribing  magnificent  and 
splendid  works  to  the  tool  and  not  to  the  workman, 
or  like  worshipping  a  sculptured  image  and  not  God, 
From  this  spring  the  fallacies,  which  are  innum- 
erable, in  all  reasonings  about  spiritual,  moral,  and 
civil  matters  ;  for  a  fallacy  is  an  inversion  of  order  ; 
it  is  the  judgment  of  the  eye,  not  of  the  mind ;  it 
is  a  conclusion  from  the  appearance  of  a  thing,  not 
from  its  essence.     Consequently  to  reason  from  fal- 
lacies respedling  the   world  and  the  existence  of 
things  in  it  is  like  proving  by  reasonings  that  dark- 
ness is  light,  that  what  is  dead  is  alive,  and  that  the 
body  flows  into  the  soul,  and  not  the  reverse.    And 
yet  it  is  an  eternal  truth  that  influx  is  spiritual, and 
not  physical,  that  is,  influx  is  from  the  soul,  which  is 
spiritual,  into  the  body,  which  is  material,  or  from 
the  spiritual  world  into  the  natural  world  ;  also  that 
as  the  Divine  from  itself  and  through  that  which 
goes  forth  from  itself  created  all  things,  so  it  sus- 
tains all  things  ;   also  that  sustentation  is  perpet- 
ual creation,  as  subsistence  is  perpetual  existence. 
{A.£.,  n.  1215.) 


PAST  FOURTH 


The   Divine   Omnipresence  and 
Omniscience 


The  Divine  Omnipresence  and 
Omniscience. 


I. 

Need  of  a  Rational  Understanding  of  Them. 

Infinity  and  Eternity,  also  Providence  and  Om- 
nipotence  as  belonging  to  the  Lord,  have  been 
treated  of;  now  the  Omnipresence  and  Omni- 
science that  belong  to  Him  shall  be  treated  of. 

In  every  religion  it  is  acknowledged  that  God 
IS  omnipresent  and  omniscient ;  therefore  prayer 
IS  offered  to  God  that  He  will  hear  and  that  He  will 
see  and  will  have  mercy  ;  which  would  not  be  done 
unless  His  omnipresence  and  omniscience  were 
believed  in.  This  belief  is  from  an  influx  out  of 
heaven  into  those   that   have   any  religion,  for  it 

wh?^K"°'-  "'^"'^  ^"'"^  ^"^'''°"  ^^^"^  ^^"gion  itself 
whether  it  is  granted  or  how  it  is  granted.  But  at 
U^is  day.  especially  in  the  Christian  world,  natural 
men  have  become  very  numerous,  and  such  see 
no  hmg  of  God  ;  and  unless  they  see  they  do  not 
believe,  or  if  they  profess  to  believe  it  is  either 
done  from  conventionality  or  from  blind  know- 
ledge,  or  from  hypocrisy  ;  and  yet  they  have  the 
abihty  to  see.     In  order,  therefore,  that  the  things 


220 


OMNIPRESENCE   AND   OMNISCIENCE. 


relating  to  God  may  be  seen,  it  is  permitted  to 
treat  of  them  from  light  and  from  consequent 
rational  sight. 

For  every  man,  even  a  merely  natural  and 
sensual  man,  is  endowed  with  an  understanding 
that  can  be  raised  up  into  the  light  of  heaven,  and 
can  see  spiritual  things,  and  even  Divine  things, 
and  can  comprehend  them,  but  only  while  he  is 
hearing  them  or  reading  about  them  ;  and  after- 
wards he  can  talk  about  them  from  the  memory,  but 
cannot  think  about  them  within  himself  from  him- 
self. The  reason  of  this  is  that  when  he  is  listen- 
ing or  reading  the  understanding  is  separated  from 
its  own  affe(5lion,  and  when  so  separated  it  is  in 
the  light  of  heaven  ;  but  when  he  is  thinking  within 
himself  from  himself  the  understanding  is  joined 
to  the  affecflion  of  his  will,  and  that  affedtion  fills 
the  understanding  and  occupies  it,  and  hinders  it 
from  going  out  of  itself.  Nevertheless,  the  fa(5l  is 
that  the  understanding  can  be  separated  from  the 
affecflion  of  the  will,  and  thus  can  be  raised  up  into 
the  light  of  heaven  in  such  natural  men  as  have  any 
affedlion  for  truth  and  as  have  not  confirmed  them- 
selves in  falsities ;  but  scarcely  in  those  that  have 
no  affedlion  for  truth  from  having  rejecfled  all 
Divine  things  or  from  having  confirmed  themselves 
in  falsities.  In  such,  between  spiritual  light  and 
natural  light  there  is  a  sort  of  darkening  veil, 
although  with  many  this  is  transparent. 

Since,  then,  any  man,  even  a  corporeal  sensual 
man,  when  he  reaches  adult  age  is  endowed  with 
such  an  ability  to  understand  that  he  can  compre- 


RATIONAL  UNDERSTANDING   OF   THEM.        221 

hend  the   things  that   relate   to   God  when   he  is 

isten.ng  or  reading,  and  afterwards  can  retain  them 

m   h  s   memory,   and    thus   talk,  teach,  and   wri^ 

about  them,  n  is  important  that  this  treatisl  on 

he  Divme  attributes  should  be  continued  as  it  was 

the^  Divin  'o' '''"'  ^'^  ^^^^"^  Omnipresence  Tnd 
he  Divine  Omniscience  shall  be  considered,  lest 

I  I'^u'u^^'  "^^"^^-^1  n^an.  from  a  lack  of  willinJess 
which  hecalls  a  lack  of  ability)  to  understand^n" 

thing  Divine  or  spiritual,  should  bring  these  into 

doubt,  and  even  denial,    m.^..  „.  ,,,,  .  ^ 

How  the  Lord  can  be  present  with  all  who 
are  m  heaven  and  throughout  the  whole  earth  and 
can  know   all    things,   even    the    most    particular 

h.ngs  conneaed  with  them,  both  present  and 
future,  can  be  comprehended  only  by  means  of  the 
following  truths :  .^     ^  v^i  lac 

(I.)   /«  M^'  »a/ura/  world  there  are  spaces  and 
times,  but  tn  the  spiritual  world  these 
are  appearances. 
(2.)    spaces  and  times  must  be  removed  from  the 
Ideas   before   the   Lord's   omnipresence 
-with  all  and  with  each  individual,  and 
His  omniscience  of  things  present  and 
things  future  connected  with  them,  can 
be  comprehended. 
(3.)    All  angels  of  heaven  and  all  men  of  the 
earth  who  constitute  the  chmrh  are  as 
''flf  fnan,  and  the  Lord  is   the  life  of 
that  man.  "^      -' 

(4.)    Consequently  as  there  is  life  in  the  particu- 
larand  most  particular  things  of  man 
and  U  knows  the  entire  state  of  these 


222  OMNIPRESENCE   AND   OMNISCIENCE. 

SO  the  Lord  is  in  the  particular  and 
most  particular  things  of  angels  of 
heaven  and  of  men  of  the  church. 

(5.)  The  Lord,  by  the  intelledual  capacity  that 
each  man  has,  or  by  its  opposite,  is  also 
present  with  those  who  are  out  of  heaven 
and  out  of  the  church,  that  is,  those 
who  are  in  hell  or  who  are  to  come  inta 
hell,  and  knows  their  whole  state. 

(6.)  From  the  omnipresence  and  omniscience  of 
the  Lord  thus  perceived  it  can  be  under- 
stood how  the  Lord  is  the  All  and  is  in 
all  things  of  heaven  and  the  church, 
and  that  we  are  in  the  Lord  and  He  is 
in  us. 

(7.)  The  omnipresence  and  omniscience  of  the 
Lord  can  be  comprehended  also  from 
the  creation  of  the  universe  ;  for  it  was 
so  created  by  Him  that  He  is  in  things 
first  and  in  things  last,  in  the  centre 
and  at  the  same  time  in  the  circumfer- 
ences, and  that  the  things  in  which  He 
is  are  uses. 

(8.)  As  the  Lord  has  Divine  love  and  Divine 
wisdom,  so  from  these  He  has  Divine 
omnipresence  and  Divine  omniscience  ; 
but  omnipresence  is  chiefly  from  the 
Divine  love,  and  omniscience  chiefly 
from  the  Divine  wisdom,  {A.E.,  n,  1217.) 


NATURAL  AND  SPIRITUAL  SPACES  AND  TIMES.  223 


II. 


Natural  and  Spiriti  al  Spaces  and  Times, 

In  the  natural  world  there  are  spaces  and  times 
but  tn  the  spiritual  world  these  are  appearances. 

The  reason  is  that  all  things  that  appear  in  the 
spiritual  world  are  immediately  from  the  sun  of 
heaven,  which  is  the  Lord's  Divine  love  ;  and  all 
thmgs  that  appear  in  the  natural  world  are  from 
the  same,  but  by  means  of  the  sun  of  the  world 
which  is   pure   fire.     Pure   love,  from   which   all 
things    in    the  spiritual  world  come  forth  imme> 
diately,  is  immaterial ;  but  pure  fire,  through  which 
all  things  in  the  material  world  come  forth  me- 
diately, is  material.     This  is  why  ail  things  that 
come  forth  in  the  spiritual  world  are  by  virtue  of 
their  origin  spiritual,  and  all  things  that  come  forth 
in  the  natural  world  are  by  virtue  of  their  second- 
ary origin  material ;    and  material  things  in  them- 
selves   are    fixed,    permanent,    and    measureable. 
They  are  fixed  because  they  endure,  however  the 
states  of   men   may  be  changed,   like    the   lands, 
mountains,  and  seas.   They  tux^ permanent,  because 
they   recur   regularly   in   turn,   like   the   seasons, 
generations,    and    germinations.     And    they    are 
measureable,  because  all  things  can  be  defined,  as 


224 


OMNIPRESENCE  AND   OMNISCIENCE. 


Spaces  by  miles  and  furlongs,  and  these  by  feet  and 
spans,  and  as  times  by  days,  weeks,  months,  and 

years. 

But  in  the  spiritual  world  all  things  are  as  if 
they  were  fixed,  as  if  they  were  permanent,  and 
as  if  they  were  measureable,  and  yet  in  them- 
selves they  are  not  so.  For  they  come  forth  and 
continue  according  to  the  states  of  the  angels,  so 
that  they  make  one  with  those  states ;  and  con- 
sequently they  change  in  whatever  way  those 
states  change.  But  this  is  chiefly  true  in  the 
world  of  spirits,  into  which  every  man  first  comes 
after  death,  and  is  not  so  in  heaven  or  in  hell.  This 
occurs  in  the  world  of  spirits,  because  every  man 
there  undergoes  changes  of  state,  and  is  thus  pre- 
pared for  heaven  or  for  hell. 

But  spirits  do  not  reflecfl  upon  these  changes 
and  variations,  because  they  are  spiritual  and  are 
thus  in  spiritual  thought,  and  with  this  each  and 
all  things  that  they  perceive  by  sense  make  one  ; 
also  because  they  are  separated  from  nature,  and 
yet  they  see  in  the  spiritual  world  things  exadly 
like  those  they  saw  in  the  world,  as  lands,  mount- 
ains, valleys,  waters,  gardens,  forests,  plants,  pal- 
aces, houses,  garments  with  which  they  are  clothed, 
food  by  which  they  are  nourished,  animals,  and 
themselves  as  men.  All  these  things  they  see  in  a 
clearer  light  than  that  by  which  they  saw  like 
things  in  the  world,  and  they  feel  them  by  a  more 
exquisite  touch  than  they  had  in  the  world. 

For  these  reasons  man  after  death   is  wholly 
ignorant  that  he  has  put  off  his  material  part,  and 


NATURAL  AND  SPIRITUAL  SPACES  AND  TIMES.  225 

that  he  has  emigrated  from  the  world  of  his  body 
into  the  world  of  his  spirit.  I  have  heard  many 
declaring  that  they  were  not  dead,  and  that  they 
could  not  understand  how  any  thing  of  their  body 
could  have  been  put  away  into  a  grave ;  and  for  the 
reason  that  all  things  in  that  world  are  like  those 
in  this  world;  and  they  do  not  know  that  the 
things  they  there  see  and  feel  are  not  material,  but 
are  substantial  from  a  spiritual  origin,  and  yet  are 
real  things,  since  they  have  the  same  origin  that 
all  things  in  this  world  have,  with  this  difference 
only  that  something  additional  like  an  outer  gar- 
ment has  been  added  from  the  sun  of  the  world  to 
those  things  that  are  in  the  natural  world  by  virtue 
of  which  they  have  become  material,  fixed,  per- 
manent, and  measureable. 

And  yet  I  can  assert  that  those  things  that  are 
m  the  spiritual  world  are  more  real  than  those  in 
the  natural  world,  for  the  dead  part  that  is  added 
m  nature  to  the  spiritual  does  not  constitute  reality 
but  diminishes  it.  This  is  evident  from  the  state 
of  the  angels  of  heaven  compared  with  the  state 
of  men  on  the  earth,  and  from  all  things  that  are 

m  heaven  compared  with  all  things  in  the  world 
{A.E.,  n.  1218.) 

As  there  are  like  things  in  heaven  and  in  our 
world,  in  the  heavens  there  are  spaces  and  times, 
but  the  spaces  there,  like  the  lands  themselves 
and  the  thmgs  upon  them,  are  appearances,  for  they 
appear  according  to  the  states  of  the  angels,  and 
extensions  of  spaces  and  distances  appear  accord- 
ing to  the  similarities  and  dissimilarities  of  states. 


226 


OMNIPRESENCE   AND   OMNISCIENCE. 


By  States  are  meant  states  of  love  and  wisdom,  or 
of  affeaions  and  of  thoughts  therefrom,  which  are 
manifold  and  various.  According  to  these  the 
angelic  societies  in  the  heavens  are  apart  from  each 
other,  also  the  heavens  are  apart  from  the  hells, 
and  the  societies  of  the  hells  from  each  other.  It 
has  been  granted  me  to  see  how  likeness  of  state 
conjoins,  and  lessens  the  extension  of  space  or 
distance,  and  how  unlikeness  of  state  separates, 
and  produces  extension  of  space  or  distance. 
Those  there  who  appear  to  be  a  mile  apart  can  in- 
stantly be  present  with  each  other  when  the  love  of 
one  for  the  other  is  stirred  up,  and  on  the  other 
hand  those  who  are  talking  together  can  instantly 
become  a  mile  apart  when  any  thing  of  hatred  is 
aroused. 

That  spaces  in  the  spiritual  world  are  mere 
appearances  has  also  been  made  evident  to  me  by 
this,  that  many  from  distant  lands,  as  from  various 
kingdoms  of  Europe,  from  Africa,  and  from  India, 
also  the  inhabitants  of  different  planets  and  of 
widely  separated  earths,  have  been  present  with 
me.  And  yet  spaces  in  the  heavens  appear  ex- 
tended in  the  same  way  as  the  spaces  of  our  earth. 
But  as  the  spaces  there  have  only  a  spiritual  origin, 
and  not  at  the  same  time  a  natural  origin,  and  thus 
appear  according  to  the  states  of  the  angels,  so  the 
angels  can  have  no  idea  of  spaces,  but  they  have 
instead  an  idea  of  their  states ;  for  the  changeable- 
ness  of  the  spaces  gives  rise  to  the  idea  that  they 
are  from  a  spiritual  origin,  thus  from  a  likeness  or 
unlikeness  of  affedions  and  of  thoughts  therefrom. 


NATURAL  AND  SPIRITUAL  SPACES  AND  TIMES.   227 

It  is  the  same  in  regard  to  times,  for  as  spaces 
are  so  are  times,  since  progressions  through  spaces 
are  also  progressions  through  times.  Times  also 
are  appearances  of  states  because  the  sun  of  heaven, 
which  is  the  Lord,  does  not  there  make  days  and 
years  by  its  revolutions  and  progressions,  as  the 
sun  of  the  world  seems  to  do  ;  consequently  in  the 
heavens  there  is  perpetual  light  and  a  perpetual 
spring,  and  therefore  times  there  are  not  fixed,  per- 
manent, and  measureable.  And  as  times  also  vary 
according  to  the  states  of  affedion  and  of  thought 
therefrom,  for  they  are  short  or  diminished  by 
things  delightful  to  the  affedions,  and  are  long  or 
lengthened  by  things  undelightful  to  the  affections, 
so  the  angels  cannot  have  from  appearance  an  idea 
of  time,  but  they  have  instead  an  idea  of  states 
from  its  origin.  All  this  makes  clear  that  the 
angels  in  heaven  have  no  idea  of  space  and  time, 
but  they  have  a  spiritual  idea  about  these,  which 
is  an  idea  of  state. 

But  this  idea  of  state  with  the  consequent  idea 
of  an  appearance  of  space  and  time  comes  solely 
in  and  from  the  outmosts  of  creation  there  ;  the 
outmosts  of  creation  there  are  the  lands  upon 
which  angels  dwell.  It  is  there  that  spaces  and 
times  appear,  and  not  in  the  spiritual  things 
themselves  by  which  the  outmosts  were  created ; 
nor  do  they  appear  in  the  affedions  themselves 
of  angels,  except  when  the  thought  from  them 
extends  to  outmosts.  But  it  is  otherwise  in  the 
natural  world  where  spaces  and  times  are  fixed, 
permanent,  and  measureable,  and  therefore  enter 


228 


OMNIPRESENCE   AND   OMNISCIENCE. 


into  the  thoughts  of  men  and  limit  them,  and  dis- 
tinguish them  from  the  spiritual  thoughts  of  angels. 
This  is  the  chief  reason  why  man  cannot  easily 
comprehend  the  Divine  omnipresence  and  omni- 
science, for  even  when  he  wishes  to  comprehend 
them  he  is  liable  to  fall  into  the  error  that  God 
is  the  inmost  of  nature,  and  is  for  that  reason  om- 
nipresent and  omniscient.    {A.£.,  n.  1219.) 


RIGHT    THOUGHT   ABOUT    SPACE   AND   TIME.     229 


III. 


Right  Thought  about  Space  and  Time. 


S/>acfs  and  times  must  be  removed  from  the  ideas 
before  the  Lord' s  omnipresence  with  all  and  with  each 
individual,  and  His  omniscience  of  things  present  and 
future,  can  be  comprehended. 

But  inasmuch  as  spaces  and  times  cannot  easily 
be  removed  from  the  ideas  of  the  thoughts  of  the 
natural  man,  it  is  better  for  a  simple  man  not  to 
think  of  the  Divine  omnipresence  and  omniscience 
from  any  reasoning  of  the  understanding  ;  it  is 
enough  for  him  to  believe  in  them  simply  from  his 
religion,  and  if  he  thinks  from  reason,  let  him  say 
to  himself  that  they  exist  because  they  pertain  to 
God,  and  God  is  everywhere  and  infinite,  also 
because  they  are  taught  in  the  Word ;  and  if  he 
thinks  of  them  from  nature  and  from  its  spaces 
and  times,  let  him  say  to  himself  that  they  are  mir- 
aculously brought  about. 

But  inasmuch  as  the  church  is  at  present  almost 
overwhelmed  by  naturalism,  and  this  can  be  shaken 
off  only  by  means  of  rational  considerations,  which 
enable  man  to  see  what  is  true,  it  will  be  w^ell  by 
means  of  such  to  draw  forth  these  Divine  attributes 
out  of  the  darkness  that  nature  induces  into  the 


230 


OMNIPRESENCE   AND   OMNISCIENCE. 


light ;  and  this  can  be  done  because,  as  has  been 
said,  the  understanding  with  which  man  is  endowed 
is  capable  of  being  raised  up  into  the  interior  light 
of  heaven  if  only  man  desires  from  love  to  know 
truths. 

All  naturalism  arises  from  thinking  about  Di- 
vine things  in  accord  with  what  is  proper  to  nature, 
that  is,  matter,  space,  and  time.  The  mind  that 
clings  to  these,  and  is  unwilling  to  believe  anything 
that  it  does  not  understand,  cannot  do  otherwise 
than  make  blind  its  understanding,  and  from  the 
dense  darkness  in  which  it  is  immersed  deny  that 
there  is  any  Divine  providence,  and  thus  deny  the 
Divine  omnipotence,  omnipresence,  and  omnisci- 
ence, although  these  are  just  what  religion  teaches 
both  within  nature  and  above  nature.  And  yet 
these  cannot  be  comprehended  by  the  understand- 
ing unless  spaces  and  times  are  separated  from  the 
ideas  of  its  thought ;  for  these  are  in  some  way 
present  in  every  idea  of  thought,  and  unless  they 
are  separated  man  can  not  think  otherwise  than  that 
nature  is  everything,  that  it  is  from  itself,  and  con- 
sequently that  the  inmost  of  nature  is  what  is  called 
God,  and  that  all  beyond  it  is  mere  conjecflure. 
And  such,  I  know,  will  wonder  how  any  thing  can 
possibly  exist  where  there  is  no  time  or  space  ;  how 
the  Divine  itself  can  exist  apart  from  time  and 
space,  how  there  can  be  spiritual  beings  that  are 
not  in  them,  but  are  only  in  appearances  of  them  ; 
and  yet  Divine  spiritual  things  are  the  very  essence 
of  all  things  that  have  had  existence  or  that 
have  existence,  and  natural  things  apart  from  these 


RIGHT   THOUGHT   ABOUT    SPACE   AND    TIME.     23 1 

are  like  bodies  without  souls,  which  become  car- 
cases. 

Every  man  who  adopts  naturalism  by  thinking 
solely  from  nature  continues  such  after  death,  and 
calls  all  things  that  he  sees  in  the  spiritual  world 
natural,  because  they  resemble  natural  things. 
Such,  however,  are  enlightened  and  taught  by 
angels  that  these  things  are  not  natural,  but  are 
appearances  of  natural  things ;  and  they  are  so 
far  convinced  as  to  affirm  that  it  is  so.  But  they 
soon  fall  back  and  worship  nature  as  they  did  in 
the  world,  and  at  length  separate  themselves  from 
the  angels  and  fall  into  hell,  and  cannot  be  rescued 
from  it  to  eternity.  The  reason  is  that  their  soul 
is  not  spiritual,  but  natural  like  the  soul  of  beasts, 
although  with  an  ability  to  think  and  speak  be- 
cause they  were  born  men.  And  because  the  hells 
at  this  day  more  than  ever  before  are  full  of  such, 
it  is  important  that  such  dense  darkness  arising 
from  nature,  which  at  present  fills  and  closes  up  the 
thresholds  of  men's  understanding,  should  be  re- 
moved by  means  of  rational  light  derived  from 
spiritual,    [.-le.,  n.  laao.) 


232 


OMNIPRESENCE  AND   OMNISCIENCP:. 


IV. 


Heaven  and  the  Church  in  the  Human  Form. 


All  angels  of  heaven  and  all  men  on  the  earth 
who  constitute  the  church  are  as  one  man,  and  the 
Lord  is  the  life  of  that  man. 

This  you  will  see  confirmed  in  the  work  on 
Heaven  and  Hell,  in  the  following  articles  :  The 
whole  heaven  in  the  complex  has  relation  to  one 
man  (n.  59-67) ;  Each  society  in  the  heavens  has 
relation  to  one  man  (n.  68-72) ;  Consequently  each 
angel  is  in  a  complete  human  form  (n.  73-77); 
Heaven  as  a  whole  and  in  part  has  relation  to 
man,  and  this  is  from  the  Lord's  Divine  Human 
(n.  78-86) ;  There  is  a  correspondence  of  all  things 
of  heaven  with  all  things  of  man  (n.  87-102) ;  The 
same  may  be  said  of  the  Lord's  church  on  the 
earth  (n.  57). 

That  heaven  is  like  a  single  man  I  have  been 
taught  by  experience  and  am  taught  by  reason. 

Experience :  It  has  been  granted  me  to  behold 
a  society  consisting  of  thousands  of  angels  as  one 
man  of  a  medium  stature,  and  societies  consisting 
of  fewer  angels  in  like  form.  This  is  seen,  how- 
ever, not  by  the  angels  in  that  society,  but  by 
angels  outside  of  that  society  at  a  distance,  and  at 


heaven  and  the  church  in  human  form.  233 

the  time  when  a  society  is  to  be  cleared  of  those 
who  are  foreign  to  it.  When  this  is  done  all  who 
constitute  the  life  of  that  society  are  within  that 
man,  while  those  who  do  not  are  outside  of  him  ; 
and  these  are  removed,  but  the  former  remain.  It 
is  the  same  with  the  whole  heaven  in  the  presence 
of  the  Lord.  For  this  reason  and  no  other  every 
angel  and  spirit  is  a  man,  in  a  form  like  that 
which  a  man  on  earth  has. 

I  have  not  seen  but  I  have  heard  that  the 
church  on  earth  also  before  the  Lord  is  like  a 
single  man  ;  and  that  it  is  also  divided  into  so- 
cieties, and  that  each  society  is  a  man ;  further- 
more, that  all  who  are  within  that  man  are  within 
heaven,  while  those  who  are  outside  of  him  are  in 
hell ;  and  the  reason  has  been  stated,  namely,  that 
every  man  of  the  church  is  also  an  angel  of  heaven, 
for  he  becomes  an  angel  after  death.  Moreover, 
not  only  does  the  church  on  earth  together  with 
the  angels  constitute  the  interiors  of  that  man,  the 
church  constitutes  also  the  exteriors,  which  are 
called  the  cartilaginous  and  bony  parts ;  this  the 
church  constitutes,  because  men  of  the  earth  are 
provided  with  a  body  in  which  the  outmost  spirit- 
ual is  clothed  with  the  natural.  This  is  what 
constitutes  the  conjuncflion  of  heaven  with  the 
church  and  of  the  church  with  heaven. 

From  reason  :  Heaven  and  the  church  are  a 
man,  in  the  greatest,  the  lesser,  and  the  least 
sum  or  complex,  for  the  sole  reason  that  God  is 
a  man,  and  consequently  the  Divine  that  goes 
forth,  which  is  the  Divine  from  Him,  is  the  same 


234 


OMNIPRESENCE   AND   OMNISCIENCE. 


in  every  least  and  greatest  respecfl,  which  is  man. 
For  it  has  been  said  above  that  the  Divine  is  not 
in  space  and  extension,  but  causes  spaces  and  ex- 
tensions to  be  manifest  in  the  outmosts  of  His 
creation,  in  the  heavens  apparently,  in  the  world 
a<5lually.  Nevertheless,  spaces  and  extensions  are 
not  spaces  and  extensions  before  God,  for  He  is 
in  His  Divine  everywhere. 

This  is  clearly  manifest  from  this,  that  the  whole 
angelic  heaven  with  the  church  is  as  one  man 
before  God ;  and  so  is  a  society  consisting  of 
thousands  of  angels  although  their  habitations 
appear  extended  through  much  space. 

The  same  is  evident  also  from  this,  that  the 
whole  heaven,  also  an  entire  society  in  heaven,  can 
appear,  at  the  good  pleasure  of  the  Lord,  as  a  man, 
great  or  small,  as  a  giant  or  as  an  infant.  But  it 
is  not  the  angels  that  so  appear,  but  the  Divine 
in  them ;  for  the  angels  are  only  recipients  of  the 
Divine  from  the  Lord,  and  it  is  the  Divine  in  them 
that  constitutes  what  is  angelic  in  them,  and  thus 
heaven.  As  angels  are  only  recipients,  and  the 
Divine  in  them  constitutes  the  angelic  and  heaven, 
it  is  clear  that  the  Lord  is  the  life  of  that  man,  that 
is,  of  heaven  and  the  church.    {A.E..  n.  1222.) 


THE    lord's    PRESENCE    IN    MAN. 


235 


I 


The  Lord's  Presence  in  Man. 

Consequently  as  there  is  life  in  the  particular 
and  most  particular  things  of  man,  and  it  knows  the 
entire  state  of  these,  so  the  Lord  is  in  the  particular 
and  most  particular  things  of  angels  of  heaven  and 
of  men  of  the  church. 

Life  is  in  the  particular  and  most  particular 
things  of  man,  because  the  various  and  diverse 
things  in  him,  called  members,  organs,  and  viscera, 
so  make  one  that  he  knows  no  otherwise  than  that 
he  is  a  simple  and  not  a  composite  being. 

That  life  is  in  the  most  particular  things  of 
man  is  evident  from  the  fadl,  that  from  his  life  he 
sees,  hears,  smells,  and  tastes,  which  could  not  be 
unless  the  organs  of  those  senses  lived  from  the 
life  of  his  soul ;  also  from  the  fadt  that  the  whole 
surface  of  the  body  possesses  the  sense  of  touch, 
and  it  is  the  life  that  produces  that  sense,  and  not 
the  skin  apart  from  the  life.  This  is  evident  also 
from  the  fa<5l  that  all  the  muscles  under  the  skin 
are  under  the  control  of  the  life  of  man's  will  and 
understanding,  and  are  moved  at  their  pleasure, 
thus  not  only  the  hands  and  feet  and  the  entire 
body,  but  also  the  tongue,  the  lips,  the  face,  and  the 


236 


OMNIPRESENCE   AND  OMNISCIENCE. 


entire  head.  None  of  these  could  be  moved  by 
the  body  alone,  but  they  are  moved  by  life  from 
the  will  and  understanding,  together  with  the  life 
in  these  members.  The  same  is  true  of  all  the 
viscera  in  the  body,  each  of  which  performs  its 
own  office,  and  acts  submissively  according  to  the 
laws  of  order  inscribed  on  it.  But  it  is  the  life  that 
does  this  by  its  motion  from  the  heart  and  lungs 
in  every  part,  and  by  sensation  from  the  cerebel- 
lum in  every  part,  while  man  is  unconscious  of  its 
action. 

Life  is  in  the  particular  and  most  particular 
things  of  man,  because  the  animal  form,  which  has 
been  treated  of  above,  is  the  real  form  of  life ;  for 
life  from  its  first  fountain,  which  is  the  sun  of 
heaven  or  the  Lord,  is  unceasingly  in  the  effort  to 
form  a  likeness  and  image  of  itself,  that  is,  a  man, 
and  out  of  man  an  angel.  Therefore  from  the  out- 
mosts  that  it  has  created  it  joins  to  itself  things 
proper  to  the  existence  of  man  in  whom  life  can  live. 
From  this  it  is  clear  that  life  is  in  the  particular 
and  most  particular  things  of  man,  and  that  any 
part  or  least  particle  from  which  life  is  absent  be- 
comes dead  and  is  set  aside. 

Since,  then,  men  and  angels  are  not  lives,  but 
only  recipients  of  life  from  the  Lord,  and  since  the 
whole  heaven  with  the  church  is  before  the  Lord 
as  one  man,  it  is  clear  that  the  Lord  is  the  life  of 
that  man,  that  is,  of  heaven  and  the  church,  and 
also  that  He  is  omnipotent  and  omniscient  in  the 
particular  and  most  particular  things  of  the  angels 
of  heaven  and  men  of  the  church.    And  as  the 


THE   lord's    PRESENCE  IN   MAN.  237 

whole  heaven  with  the  church  is,  before  the  Lord, 
as  one  man,  great  or  small  according  to  His  will| 
as  a  giant  or  as  an  infant,  it  is  clear  that  the  life 
or  the  spiritual  that  goes  forth  from  the  Lord  is 
not  in  space  or  extended  with  the  angels  and  with 
men  of  the  church ;  consequently  that  spaces  and 
times  must  be  separated  from  their  ideas,  in  order 
that  the  Lord's  omnipresence  and  omniscience  with 
all  and  with  each  individual  may  be  comprehended 
(A.£.,  n.  1223.} 


238 


ONCNIPRESENCE   AND   OMNISCIENCE. 


VI. 


The  Lord's  Presence  in  Evil  Men. 

The  Lord  by  the  intelleclual  capacity  that  each 
man  has,  or  its  opposite,  is  a/so  present  with  those  who 
are  out  of  heaven  and  the  church,  with  those  who  are 
in  hell  or  who  are  to  come  into  hell,  and  knows  their 
whole  state. 

Every  man  has  three  degrees  of  life,  a  lowest 
in  common  with  beasts,  and  two  higher  that  are 
not  in  common  with  beasts.  By  these  two  higher 
degrees  man  is  a  man  ;  these  with  the  evil  are 
closed,  but  with  the  good  are  open.  And  yet,  in 
regard  to  the  light  of  heaven,  which  is  the  wisdom 
that  goes  forth  from  the  Lord  as  a  sun,  these  two 
degrees  are  not  closed  in  evil  men,  but  are  closed 
in  regard  to  the  heat,  which  is  the  love,  that  also 
goes  forth  therefrom.  From  this  it  is  that  every 
man,  even  an  evil  man,  has  a  capacity  to  under- 
stand, but  not  a  capacity  to  will  from  heavenly 
love,  for  the  will  is  a  receptacle  of  heat,  that  is,  of 
love,  and  the  understanding  is  a  receptacle  of  light, 
that  is,  of  wisdom,  from  that  sun. 

The  reason  why  all  men  are  not  intelligent 
and  wise  is  that  some  have  by  their  lives  closed 
up  in  themselves  the  receptacle  of  that  love,  and 


the  lord's  presence  in  evil  men.       239 

when  that  is  closed  they  have  no  wish  to  under- 
stand anything  except  what  they  love,  for  that  only 
do  they  wish  and  love  to  think  about  and  thus  un- 
derstand. And  as  every  man,  even  an  evil  man, 
has  an  ability  to  understand,  and  that  ability  is 
from  an  influx  of  light  from  the  sun  which  is  the 
Lord,  it  is  clear  that  the  Lord  is  also  present  with 
those  who  are  out  of  heaven  and  the  church,  who 
are  either  in  hell  or  are  to  come  into  hell.  It  is 
from  the  same  ability  that  man  is  able  to  think  and 
reason  about  various  things,  which  beasts  cannot 
do.  It  is  from  the  same  ability  that  man  lives 
forever. 

Another  proof  of  the  Lord's  omnipresence  in 
hell  is  that  the  entire  hell,  like  the  entire  heaven,  is 
before  the  Lord  as  one  man,  but  as  a  devil-man  or  a 
monster-man  ;  and  in  this  all  things  are  in  opposi- 
tion to  those  that  are  in  the  Divine  angel-man, 
consequently  from  this  latter  every  thing  that  is  in 
the  former  can  be  known,  that  is,  from  heaven 
every  thing  that  is  in  hell  ;  for  evil  is  known  from 
good,  and  falsity  from  truth,  thus  the  entire  quality 
of  the  one  from  the  quality  of  the  other. 

There  are  three  heavens,  and  there  are  three 
hells  ;  and  as  the  heavens  are  divided  into  societies 
so  are  the  hells  ;  and  each  society  of  hell  corre- 
sponds by  opposition  to  a  society  of  heaven. 
The  correspondence  is  like  that  between  good  af- 
fecflions  and  evil  aflfeaions,  for  all  societies  are 
affedions.  So  in  the  same  way  that  each  society 
of  heaven,  as  has  been  said,  is  in  the  Lord's  sight 
as  one  angel-man  in  the  likeness  of  its  affedion. 


240 


OMNIPRESENCE   AND   OMNISCIENCE. 


each  society  of  hell  is  in  the  Lord's  sight  as  one 
devil-man  in  the  likeness  of  its  evil  aflfeaion.  This, 
too,  it  has  been  granted  me  to  see.  They  appear 
like  men,  but  monstrous.  I  have  seen  three  kinds 
of  them,  the  fiery,  the  black,  and  the  pallid,  but  all 
of  them  with  deformed  faces,  a  husky  voice,  ex- 
ternal speech,  and  like  movements.  They  all  have 
a  lascivious  love,  and  not  one  of  them  a  chaste  love. 
The  delights  of  their  will  are  evils,  and  the  delights 
of  their  thoughts  are  falsities.    {a.£.,  n.  1224.) 

From  the  omnipresence  and  omniscience  of  the 
Lord  thus  perceived  it  can  be  understood  how  the 
Lord  is  the  All  and  is  in  all  things  of  heaven  and 
the  church,  and  that  we  are  in  the  Lord,  and  He  is 
in  us.  All  things  of  heaven  and  the  church  mean 
Divine  truth  and  Divine  good  ;  the  former  is  from 
the  light  of  the  sun  of  heaven,  which  is  wisdom, 
and  the  latter  is  from  the  heat  of  the  sun  of  heaven, 
which  is  love  ;  and  in  the  same  way  that  the  angels 
are  recipients  of  these  are  they  a  heaven  in  gen- 
eral and  heavens  individually,  and  in  the  same 
way  that  men  are  recipients  of  them  are  they  a 
church  in  general  and  churches  individually. 
There  can  be  nothing  in  any  angel  that  makes 
heaven  in  him,  nor  anything  in  any  man  that  makes 
the  church  in  him,  except  the  Divine  that  goes 
forth  from  the  Lord  ;  for  it  is  well  known  that  every 
truth  of  faith  and  every  good  of  love  is  from  the 
Lord,  and  nothing  of  these  from  man.  All  this 
makes  clear  that  the  Lord  is  the  All  and  is  in  all 
things  of  heaven  and  the  church. 


THE  lord's   PRESENCE   IN   EVIL   MEN.  24I 

That  we  are  in  the  Lord  and  He  is  in  us.  He 
Himself  teaches  in  yohn  •  -    •— 

Jesus  said,  "He  that  eateth  Mv  flesh  and  drinketh  Mv 
blood  abideth  in  Mc-  and  1  in  Him"  (vi.  56). 

And  in  the  same, 

"In   that  day  ye  shall  know  that. . . .  ye  are  m  Me  and 
I  in  you     (xiv.  20,  21}  ; 

And  elsewhere, 

"That  in  Him  we  Wve  and  move  and  have  our  beinc-** 
[Acts  xvii.  28;.  ** 

All  angels  of  heaven  and  all  men  of  the  church 
are  in  the  Lord  and  the  Lord  is  in  them  when 
they  are  in  that  heavenly  man  spoken  of  above. 
Angels  and  men  are  then  in  the  Lord  because 
they  are  recipients  of  life  from  Him,  and  thus  are 
in  His  Divine,  and  the  Lord  is  in  them  because  He 
is  the  life  in  recipients. 

All  this  makes  clear  that  all  who  are  in  natural 
thought  respecting  the  Lord  can  have  no  other 
than  an  intuitive  understanding  of  His  Divine  om- 
nipresence, although  it  is  an  actual  omnipresence, 
like  the  omnipresence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  is 
the  Divine  going  forth.    (AK,n.  1225.) 


242 


OMNIPRESENCE  AND  OMNISCIENCE, 


VII. 


How  THE  Lord  is  Present  in  All  Things. 

The  omnipresence  and  omniscience  of  the  Lord 
can  be  comprehended  also  from  the  creation  of  the 
universe ;  for  the  universe  was  so  created  by  Him 
that  He  is  in  things  first  and  in  things  last,  in 
the  centre  and  in  the  circumferences,  and  that  the 
things  in  which  He  is  are  uses. 

This  can  be  seen  to  be  Xmt  from  the  creation  of 
the  universe,  from  the  life  of  man,  and  frovi  the 
essence  of  uses. 

The  creation  of  the  universe  can  be  in  no  way  so 
well  understood  as  from  images  of  it  in  the  heavens. 
There  creation  is  unceasing  and  immediate,  for  in 
the  spiritual  world  lands  come  forth  instantly,  and 
upon  them  pleasure  gardens,  and  in  these  trees  full 
of  fruits,  also  shrubs,  flowers,  and  plants  of  every 
kind.  When  these  are  contemplated  by  one  who 
is  wise,  they  are  found  to  be  correspondences  of 
the  uses  in  which  the  angels  are,  to  whom  they  are 
given  as  rewards.  The  angels,  moreover,  in  ac- 
cord with  their  uses  have  houses  given  them,  full  of 
useful  and  beautiful  things  ;  also  garments  in  ac- 
cord with  their  uses,  and  food  that  is  esculent  and 
palatable  in  accord  with  their  uses,  and  delightful 


HOW  THE  LORD  IS  PRESENT  IN  ALL  THINGS.      243 


conversations,  which  also  are  uses  because  they  are 
recreations.  All  these  things  are  given  them  grat- 
uitously, and  yet  on  account  of  the  uses  they  per- 
form. In  a  word,  the  whole  heaven  is  so  full  of 
uses  that  it  may  be  called  the  very  kingdom  of 
uses. 

Those,  on  the  other  hand,  who  perform  no  uses 
are  sent  into  the  hells,  where  they  are  compelled  by 
a  judge  to  perform  tasks  ;  and  if  they  refuse  no 
food  is  given  them  and  no  clothing,  nor  any  bed 
but  the  ground,  and  they  are  scoffed  at  by  their 
companions  as  slaves  are  by  their  masters.  The 
judge  even  permits  them  to  be  sold  into  slavery, 
and  if  they  entice  others  from  their  tasks  they  are 
severely  punished.  All  this  is  done  until  they 
yield.  But  those  who  cannot  be  made  to  yield 
are  cast  out  into  deserts,  where  a  morsel  of  bread 
is  given  them  daily,  and  water  to  drink,  and  they 
dwell  by  themselves  in  huts  or  in  caves ;  and  be- 
cause they  perform  no  uses  the  land  about  them  is 
so  barren  that  a  grassy  sod  is  rarely  seen  upon  it. 
In  such  deserts  and  hells  I  have  seen  many  of 
noble  descent,  who  in  the  world  gave  themselves 
up  to  idleness,  or  sought  offices,  the  duties  of  which 
they  discharged  not  for  the  sake  of  use  but  for 
honor  and  gain,  which  were  the  only  uses  regarded. 

The  uses  performed  in  the  heavens  and  the 
tasks  done  in  the  hells  are  in  part  like  those  done 
in  the  world,  although  for  the  most  part  they  are 
spiritual  uses,  that  cannot  be  described  by  any 
natural  language,  and  (what  has  often  surprised 
me)  do  not  fall  into  the  ideas  of  natural  thought. 


244  OMNIPRESENCE  AND  OMNISCIENCE. 

But  this  is  generally  the  case  with  what  is  spiritual 
In  the  unceasing  and  immediate  creation  of  all* 
thmgs  in  the  heavens  there  can  be  seen  as  in  an 
image  the  creation  of  the  universe  with  its  globes 
and  that  there  is  nothing  created  in  these  except 
for  use,  and  m  general,  one  kingdom  of  nature  for 
another,  the  mineral  kingdom  for  the  vegetable, 
this  for  the  animal,  and  both  for  men,  that  they 
may  serve  the  Lord  by  performing  uses  to  the 
neighbor. 

From  the  life  of  /«a«.— When  this  is  regarded 
from  the  creation  of  all  things  in  it  no  part  will  be 
found  that  is  not  for  use,  not   a   fibre  or  minute 
vessel  m  the  brains,  in  the  organs  of  sense,  in  the 
muscles,  or  in  any  of  the  viscera  of  the  thorax  and 
the  abdomen,  or  anywhere  else,  that  is  not  for  the 
sake  of  use  in  general  and  in  particular,  thus  for 
the  sake  of  the  whole  and  of  each  thing  conneded 
with  It,  and  not  for  its   own  sake.     The  greater 
forms,     which    are     called     members,    sensories 
muscles,    and    viscera,   which    are    made    up   and 
organized  from  fibres  and  vessels,  are  all  formed 
from  use,  in  use,  and  for  use,  so  that  they  may  be 
simply  called   uses,  of  which   the  whole   man    is 
composed   and    formed.      It    is   therefore   clearly 
evident  that  they  have  no  other  origin  and  no  other 
end  than  use. 

That  every  man  likewise  was  created  and  born 
for  use  is  cleariy  evident  from  the  use  of  all  things 
m  him,  and  from  his  state  after  death,  when,  if  he 
performs  no  use,  he  is  accounted  so  worthless  that 
he  IS  cast  into  infernal  prisons  or  into  desert  places. 


HOW  THE  LORD  IS  PRESENT  IN  ALL  THINGS.      245 

That  man  is  born  to  be  a  use  is  clear  also  from 
his  life  ;  for  a  man  whose  life  is  from  a  love  of  uses 
is  wholly  different  from  one  whose  life  is  from  a 
love  of  idleness.  By  a  life  of  idleness  is  meant  a 
life  made  up  of  social  intercourse,  feastings,  and 
entertainments.  A  life  from  a  love  of  use  is  a  life 
of  love  of  the  public  good  and  of  love  to  the 
neighbor,  and  also  a  life  of  love  to  the  Lord,  for  the 
Lord  performs  uses  to  man  through  man,  conse- 
quently a  life  of  love  of  use  is  a  Divine  spiritual 
life,  and  every  one  who  loves  a  good  use  and  does 
it  from  a  love  for  it  is  loved  by  the  Lord,  and  is 
received  with  joy  by  the  angels  in  heaven.  But 
a  life  of  love  of  idleness  is  a  life  of  love  of  self  and 
the  world,  and  thus  a  merely  natural  life  ;  and  such 
a  life  does  not  hold  the  thoughts  together,  but 
pours  them  out  upon  every  vain  thing,  and  there- 
by turns  man  away  from  the  delights  of  wisdom 
and  immerses  him  in  the  delights  of  the  mere  body 
and  of  the  world  to  which  evils  cling ;  therefore 
after  death  he  is  let  down  into  the  infernal  society 
to  which  he  has  attached  himself  in  the  world,  and 
is  there  compelled  to  work  by  force  of  hunger  and 
lack  of  food. 

By  uses  in  the  heavens  and  on  the  earths  are 
meant  the  services,  fun(flions,  and  pursuits  of  life, 
employments,  various  domestic  tasks,  occupations, 
consequently  all  things  that  are  opposite  to  idleness 
and  indolence. 

From  the  essence  of  uses. — The  essence  of  uses 
is  the  public  good.  With  the  angels  the  public 
good  in  the  most  general  sense  means  the  good  of 


246 


OMNIPRESENCE   AND   OMNISCIENCE. 


the  entire  heaven,  in  a  less  general  sense  the  good 
of  the  society,  and  in  a  particular  sense  the  good  of 
the  fellow  citizen.  But  with  men  the  essence  of 
uses  in  the  most  general  sense  is  both  the  spiritual 
and  the  civil  good  of  the  whole  human  race,  in  a 
less  general  sense  the  good  of  the  country,  in  a 
particular  sense  the  good  of  a  community,  and  in 
an  individual  sense  the  good  of  the  fellow  citizen ; 
and  as  these  goods  constitute  the  essence  of  uses, 
love  is  their  life,  since  all  good  is  of  love  and  the 
life  is  in  the  love. 

In  this  love  is  everyone  who  takes  delight  in  the 
use  he  is  in  because  of  its  usefulness,  whether  he  is 
a  king,  a  magistrate,  a  priest,  a  minister,  a  general, 
a  merchant,  or  a  workman.  Everyone  who  takes 
delight  in  the  use  of  his  funcflion  because  of  its 
usefulness  loves  his  country  and  fellow  citizens  ; 
but  he  who  does  not  take  delight  in  it  because  of 
its  usefulness,  but  does  it  solely  for  the  sake  of 
self,  or  solely  for  the  sake  of  honor  and  wealth, 
does  not  in  his  heart  love  his  country  and  fellow 
citizens,  but  only  himself  and  the  world.  This  is 
because  no  one  can  be  kept  by  the  Lord  in  love  to 
the  neighbor  unless  he  is  in  some  love  for  the  pub- 
lic good  ;  and  no  one  can  be  in  that  love  unless  he 
is  in  a  love  of  use  for  the  sake  of  use,  or  in  a  love 
of  use  from  use,  thus  from  the  Lord. 

Since,  then,  each  thing  and  all  things  in  the 
world  were  created  in  the  beginning  for  use,  and 
in  man  also  all  things  were  formed  for  use,  and 
the  Lord  from  creation  regarded  the  whole  human 
race  as  one  man,  in  which  each  individual  is  like- 


HOV^r  THE  LORD  IS  PRESENT  IN  ALL  THINGS.     247 

wise  for  use,  or  is  a  use,  and  since  the  Lord  Him- 
self, as  has  been  said  above,  is  the  life  of  that  man, 
it  is  clear  that  the  universe  was  so  created  that  the 
Lord  is  in  things  first  and  in  things  last,  also  in  the 
centre  and  in  the  circumferences,  that  is,  in  the 
midst  of  all,  and  that  the  things  in  which  He  is 
are  uses.  And  from  all  this  the  Lord's  omnipres- 
ence and  omniscience  can  be  understood.  {A.£.,  n. 
X226.) 


248 


OMNIPRESENCE   AND   OMNISCIENCE. 


VIII. 

Nature  of  the  Lord's  Omnipresence  and 

Omniscience. 

As  the  Lord  has  Divine  love  and  Divine  wisdom^ 
so  from  these  He  has  Divine  omnipresence  and  Divine 
omniscience,  but  omnipresence  is  chiefly  from  Divine 
love,  and  omniscience  is  chiefly  from  Divine  wisdom. 

Love  and  wisdom  in  the  Lord  are  not  two  but 
one,  and  this  one  is  the  Divine  love,  which  appears 
before  the  angels  of  heaven  as  a  sun.  But  when 
love  and  wisdom  go  forth  from  the  Lord  as  a  sun 
they  appear  as  two  distinct  things,  love  appearing 
as  heat,  and  wisdom  as  light.  These  from  their 
origin  from  the  sun  act  wholly  as  one  ;  but  with 
angels  of  heaven  and  with  men  of  the  church  they 
are  separated,  some  receiving  more  of  love  which 
is  heat  than  of  wisdom  which  is  light,  and  these 
are  called  celestial  angels  and  men  ;  while  others 
receive  more  of  wisdom  which  is  light  than  of  love 
which  is  heat,  and  these  are  called  spiritual  angels 
and  men. 

An  illustration  of  this  can  be  found  in  the  sun 
of  the  world.  In  that  sun  fire  and  the  origin  of 
light  are  wholly  one,  and  this  one  is  the  fiery  ele- 
ment in  that  sun.  From  this  the  heat  and  light  go 
forth  together,  but    they   appear  as   two   distinct 


WHAT   THEY    ARE. 


249 


things,  although  from  their  origin  they  act  as  one. 
That  one  appears  on  the  earth  in  the  spring  and 
summer  seasons,  yet  they  are  two  distinct  things 
according  to  the  turning  of  the  earth  towards  the 
sun,  and  thus  according  as  the  reception  is  direct 
or  oblique.  This  correspondence  may  serve  as  an 
illustration. 

It  is  the  same  in  respect  to  omnipresence  and 
omniscience.  In  the  Lord  these  are  one  ;  and  yet 
they  go  forth  from  Him  as  two  distinct  attributes  ; 
for  omnipresence  has  relation  to  love,  and  omnisci- 
ence to  wisdom,  or  what  is  the  same,  omnipresence 
has  relation  to  good,  and  omniscience  to  truth,  since 
all  good  is  of  love  and  all  truth  is  of  wisdom.  The 
Lord's  omnipresence  has  relation  to  love  and  to 
good  because  the  Lord  is  present  with  man  in  the 
good  of  his  love  ;  and  omniscience  has  relation  to 
wisdom  and  to  truth  because  from  man's  good  of 
love  the  Lord  is  omnipresent  in  the  truths  of  his 
understanding,  and  this  omnipresence  is  called  om- 
niscience. As  this  is  true  individually  of  one  man 
so  it  is  true  in  general  of  all.    [a.e.,  n.  1228.) 


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